Sweet Red Bean Bun

Anpan. Hong dou bao. Tau sar bau. Commonplace yet indelible. Found in almost every Chinese bakery, with similar versions in almost every Japanese and Korean bakery, the humble red bean bun is sweet and delightful. Undaunted by the challenge of working with yeast, and excited by a newly bought can of sweet red bean paste, I decided to embark on Project Anpan.


For the dough:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (1 package)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup warm milk (100 to 110)
1 egg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, and more for dusting and kneading

Put the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the warm milk. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. It should foam and bubble. If it does not, discard and use a fresh package of yeast. Stir in the egg, oil and remaining milk.

Put the flour and remaining sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process 2 seconds. With the machine running, pour the warm milk mixture down the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until it forms a rough ball. If ball is sticky and wet, add a little more flour. Process a few seconds longer, or until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove dough to a lightly floured board.

Knead dough, dusting with flour to keep it from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes. Place in a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and place on a lightly floured surface. It is now ready to form into rolls, buns or loaves.

If preparing filled buns: Cut dough in half. Form each half into a 12-inch long log; cut into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a 4-inch circle. Roll outer inch of each circle 1/8-inch thin; leave middle slightly thicker. If right-handed, place a dough circle in palm of your left hand. Put a big tablespoon of filling in the; middle; put left thumb over the filling. With your right hand, bring up edge and make a pleat in it. Rotate circle a little and make a second pleat. As you make each pleat, gently pull it up and around as if to enclose your thumb. Continue rotating, pleating and pinching, then gently twist into a spiral. Pinch to seal. Place bun pleated side down on a parchment square. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Put buns 1 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Let rise until doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat egg yolks with water and sugar; brush over buns. Bake 20 minutes

Calculated for 1 buns (47g)
Recipe makes 20 buns
Calories 172
Calories from Fat 81 (47%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 9.1g 14%
Saturated Fat 1.5g 7%
Polyunsat. Fat 4.6g
Monounsat. Fat 2.5g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 12mg 4%
Sodium 10mg 0%
Potassium 57mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 19.4g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.7g 2%
Sugars 2.0g
Protein 3.2g 6%