A Sweet Treat of Hong Kong ~ Pai Pau

If one were to stroll along the streets in Hong Kong, one is bound to come across glass cupboards that are filled with a wide range of Hong Kong style pastries.  These cupboards are commonly placed near the entrance to the many cafes, restaurants or bakeries, making it convenient for customers who choose to grab a bite on the go instead of dining in.  Snacking is quite a culture there.  Well, of course looking won't do both you and them justice! Pick a traditional cha chaan teng (aka tea restaurants), order a few of these pastries and a cup of milk tea to go with them for a true Hong Kong experience :)

Chinese pastries with British influence is one of the must try food when one visits Hong Kong.  Among them egg tarts, pineapple buns, cocktail buns and pai pau. 

Pai Pau literally translates to row buns just like how they are made longish and baked closely together in a row.  Nothing big to shout about, these are typical Asian style plain sweet buns but they are cottony soft, creamy and milky.  You could eat them just like that which is how i prefer them.

If you look at the recipe, it's a no brainer why these buns are so soft, creamy and milky.  4 types of milk goes into it, cream, fresh milk, powdered milk and condensed milk!  Pretty high in fat content, huh?  I have made them on rare occasions only, mostly when i am trying to finish off some cream.  And for this time around, the other reason would be to support the Asian Food Fest blogging event, featuring Hong Kong and Macau for this month.

Recipe
Reference: Do What I Like

Ingredients

• 250g bread flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5g instant yeast
• 2 tbsp powdered milk
• 45g sugar
• 1 egg yolk + milk to make up 120ml
• 75ml whipping cream
• 1 tbsp condensed milk
• 50g pre fermented dough
• 40g butter 

Method

1. Place all ingredients in the bread pan of the breadmaker (according to the recommended sequence stated in the instruction manual of the breadmaker).  Select Dough function.  Once the cycle completes, let dough rise until double the size.
2. Remove from bread pan then punch down dough to release trapped air.  
3. Divide dough into 6 portions (around 93g each).  Shape into round balls and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
4. Roll out dough  into rectangular shape of around 18cm * 5 cm. Roll dough up from the long side.  
5. Place in a greased pan (The size of my pan was 23 * 28 cm).  
6. Let dough rise until length is around 80% of pan. (I covered the pan with a tray to prevent it from rising in height.)
7. Brush with egg wash (I used the remaining egg white plus 1 tbsp of milk).
8. Bake at 190C for 18 minutes. 
9. Brush with some butter for a nice glossy look and let it cool on rack.

Pre fermented Dough

• 63g bread flour
• 40ml water
• 1g instant yeast

1. Mix all the dough into a rough dough and let if proof for at least 2 hours.
2. The above amount will produce 100g of dough. 
3. Wrapped up the remaining portion with cling wrap and freeze for future use.
4. The frozen dough must be brought to room temperature before using.

Note:

I have incorporate my slight variations into the recipe above which include using a breadmaker to do the kneading and dividing the dough into 6 portions instead of 8 as recommended in the original recipe.

Updated on 27 Feb 14 - My apologies for missing out step 6 in the original post. 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Hong Kong + Macau  hosted by Annie from Annielicious Food 

Posted in: Buns