Crispy Sugar Topped Buns

This is my very first time baking bread and it is a success! Hooray! Bought a pack of bread flour last year when it was on sale, thinking I'll have good use for it some day. And the day never really quite came until I did a stock check to find that the flour will be expiring in a few months to come.

Found this really good book where the author is highly raved by many bloggers. My only qualm is the book is in Mandarin, so I have to guess what some of the words mean. It can be pretty frightening for a baker to translate the name of an ingredient wrongly too. So much for being a Chinese. Even the name of the bread is loosely translated by me, but never mind you get the idea. Am going to translate the recipe into English, apologies if the directions sound weird.

The bread is soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside with the sugar coated top. The texture dampened down the next morning but it taste as good as freshly baked once you warm it up.

Crispy Sugar Topped Buns (adapted from孟老师的 100道面包)

Ingredients:

Bread:
200g bread flour
20g low protein flour (I use top flour)
30g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3g instant dry yeast
5g cheese powder
15g egg
120g water
20g unsalted butter, room temperature

Sugar Topping Paste:
40g unsalted butter, room temperature
25g sugar
20g low protein flour (I use top flour)

Beaten egg for egg wash

Method:

1. Combine flours, sugar, salt, yeast, cheese powder, egg and water and beat at low speed with a dough hooker mixer, then turn to medium and knead until you have a smooth dough
2. Add butter and knead with low speed until well combined, then increase to medium speed and knead till dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Cover dough with shrink wrap and let it proof for 60mins.
4. Divide proof-ed dough into 8 portions then roll them into balls. Cover with shrink wrap and let them rest for 10mins.
5. Shape into 15cm oval shaped dough and place them on the baking tray. Cover baking tray with shrink wrap, let them proof for another 30mins.
6. For sugar topping paste, combine butter and sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in flour and stir until you get a paste consistency.

7. Brush egg wash over the bread dough and pipe the sugar topping paste over them.

8. Bake bread in a 175°C preheated oven for 18mins.