The Pandan Bun is a favourite in my family due to its aroma. Besides this, it is also very soft and fluffy; it stays soft for 3 to 4 days.
Ingredients
- 500 g bread flour
- 100 g castor sugar or you may reduce the amount slightly. (You may use brown sugar.)
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 3 tbsp milk powder
- 2 tsp yeast
- 100 ml pandan juice (from juicing 30 pandan leaves with some water)
- 170 - 180 ml lukewarm milk
- 2 eggs at room temperature, 1 for the dough and the other for brushing the dough balls before baking.
- 50 g butter at room temperature
Method
- First of all, you have to activate the yeast and this is done by adding a bit of the sugar to some of the lukewarm milk, stirring the milk to dissolve the sugar and then sprinkling the yeast onto it.
- Once bubbles have formed (after approximately 10 minutes), the yeast mixture is ready for you to start making the buns.
- Pour the rest of the lukewarm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Pour in the pandan juice.
- Transfer the yeast mixture into the mixing bowl.
- Break the egg into the mixing bowl.
- Add in the rest of the sugar.
- Add in the salt.
- Pour in the flour.
- Add in the milk powder.
- Start kneading until a dough ball is formed. Once that is achieved, add in the butter.
- Continue to knead until the butter is incorporated into the dough.
- Continue to knead until the dough passes the window pane test.
- Oil a bowl.
- Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl, cover the bowl with a cling wrap and put a wet towel over the cling wrap. Let the dough proof until it is double in size.
- Slightly flour the table top. (I like to slightly oil the table top.)
- Transfer the dough onto the table top.
- Roll the dough out into a long rectangular shape (horizontally).
- Fold the dough into 3 by bringing the right part onto the centre part followed by the left.
- Then roll the dough out again into a long rectangular shape (vertically) and fold into 3 again.
- Do this process at least 6 times (alternating between vertical and horizontal roll-outs). I usually do 8 roll-outs as I wish to get more of the "peeling" effect in my buns.
- Once this is done, cut the dough into 15 pieces. (My pieces usually weigh between 62 to 63 g each.)
- Roll these pieces into little balls.
- Grease your pan (which should be big enough for the 15 little balls). (I grease and line my pan with parchment paper for easy removal of my baked buns.)
- Place these balls in the pan.
- Cover the pan with a cling wrap and let the balls proof until double in size.
- Break an egg into a bowl and add some water to it. Beat the egg and brush the buns with the egg just before baking.
- Bake the buns in a pre-heated oven at 175 deg C for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the buns from the pan immediately after baking and let them cool down on a wire rack.