I tried this basic bread recipe twice; once with red bean filling, and once with a milky custard filling called naisu. They both turned out delicious!
This is the red bean filling loaf...
and here is the loaf with milky custard (naisu)… you can't really see the filling because it's yellow but it's there!
This is the recipe that I followed. The secret ingredient is Tangzhong… and here is how you make it-
Tangzhong
Adapted from Kirbie's Cravings
Ingredients
1/3 cup bread flour
1 cup water
1/3 cup bread flour
1 cup water
Directions
1. Mix flour and water together and whisk until it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain.
2. Pour mixture into a small pot and turn on medium heat. Begin stirring constantly as the mixture heats up. It will begin to thicken. When the temperature of the mixture reaches 65 degrees Celsius, turn off the stove and take the mixture off the stove to let it cool. (If you are continually stirring, the mixture will start to have “lines ” and then it is done).
1. Mix flour and water together and whisk until it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain.
2. Pour mixture into a small pot and turn on medium heat. Begin stirring constantly as the mixture heats up. It will begin to thicken. When the temperature of the mixture reaches 65 degrees Celsius, turn off the stove and take the mixture off the stove to let it cool. (If you are continually stirring, the mixture will start to have “lines ” and then it is done).
3. Once the mixture is cooled, pour it into a bowl and cover the top using plastic wrap. Place the wrap directly onto the mixture to keep it from drying out and put it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. The paste does not keep well, so use within a few days.
The filling was my own twist. After resting the dough for 40 minutes, I rolled it out and put the fillings on… Here is the red bean filling...
Red bean filling was easy too, it just takes some time to cook…
Red Bean Filling-
Ingredients-
1 cup of red bean
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
Directions-
Put the cup of red bean in a pot with water. Heat the pot on medium until boiling. Drain red beans and then put the beans back into the pot. Add 3 cups of water into the beans and then cover the pot and let it simmer. Simmer for at least 1.5 hours until the beans are soft. Add in both the granulated sugar and brown sugar.
*for this bread, I processed half of the red bean filling in a food processor to give it a little more pastey texture.
**for your own convenience, you can also buy red bean filling in a can at Asian grocery stores…
Here is the recipe for the milky custard filling (naisu)-
Milky Custard (Naisu)
Ingredients-
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
2/3 cup powdered milk (I substituted with non-dairy creamer)
1 egg, whisked
pinch of salt
Using an electric hand mixer, mix in the butter and confectioners sugar. Then stir in powdered milk and half of the egg mixer and salt.
Alright, now the directions for the actual bread-
Milk Bread
Adapted and slightly modified from Kirbie's Cravings again!
Ingredients-
2½ cups bread flour
3tbsp+2tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
½ cup milk
120g tangzhong (about half of the tangzhong made)
2 tsp instant yeast (instant!! not active dry yeast!)
3 tbsp butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)
Directions-
1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until your dough comes together and then add in the butter and continue kneading. The dough takes a long time to knead. About half an hour by hand. The dough will start out to be extremely sticky. Keep kneading until the dough is no longer sticky and is elastic. You should be able to stretch the dough without it breaking right away.
2. Knead the dough into a ball shape. Take a large bowl and grease with oil. Place dough into greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Let it proof until it’s doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
3. Knead the dough again after 40 minutes for about 3 minutes. Then let it rest again under a damp kitchen towel, for 15 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough into about 5" x 18" and put the fillings onto the dough. Then roll the dough into a log.
5. Place the log into a 5x9 baking pan. Cover with damp kitchen towel again and let it rest for 40 minutes.
6. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash and bake in into the preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
Bread is done! I know bread baking can be a little more complicated and may quite some time, but the end result is so worth it!
that looks great!
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