Whereas many people love a chewy open crumb in their bread nowadays, many Asian folks enjoy the soft pillowy gentleness of yeasted breads. Think of milk bread, “smiling” snowy char siu bao at dim sum, King Hawaiian sweet bread, and all those yeasted items sold at 85C Bakery and Cafe, and other similar Asian establishment.
You can make them at home with little effort and the result of your effort will be ethereal. This recipe is a collaboration with my friend Christopher Tan, the cookbook author, writer, cooking teacher and master of many Asiany treats. Chris lives in Singapore and has studied yeasted breads all over the world for decades. He wrote two phenomenal books titled Nerd Baker and Nerd Baker 2: Tales of the Yeast Indies. He love puns. He also loves this pillowy rolls, a recipe that will seem like a kin to Parker House rolls but with less fat.
Chris’s rolls are bodacious, a touch sweet, and delightful. One batch makes enough for a nice party or for freezing. He and I cooked virtually for two days to come up with a recipe that marries recipes from his Nerd Baker series. Part of the trouble we ran into was about translating recipes and ingredients from tropical Singapore to Northern California. But we nailed it down for you to play with.
Jump to:
How do you eat Chris’s Hot Rolls
The fragrant, cozy rolls go with many things, but may I suggest:
Before making the rolls, review these pointers.
Ingredient tips
Potato: The starches from potato add softness and contributes to the rise. No waxy potatoes please. They will not fall apart easily. Choose a low-moisture potato you would bake or use for mashed potatoes — like a Russet or maybe a Yukon Gold. No white or red rose potato, which are waxy potatoes for boiling up for potato salad or simmering in curries or stews.
Bread flour: I used King Arthur bread flour which has 12.7% protein. The bread flour was purchased from Azure Standard in Oregon. I adore their unifine whole wheat flours.
Instant yeast: SAF instant yeast is both my and Chris’s choice. It dissolves fast and is reliable. I buy a 1-pound package and keep most of it frozen to refill a small jar in my fridge. SAF instant yeast comes as Red Star (for savory and lightly sweet items) and Gold Star (for sweets). SAF Red Star instant yeast has more uses. If you regular yeast, the rise time may be slower.
Milk powder: Bob’s Red Mill and Milkman lowfat milk powder were employed in both trials.
Cross paste: I made these as fun Hot Cross Buns for the Easter season. I just wanted lofty rolls with the signature cross so I could use them for sliders or rolls at a meal. If you want to put candied citrus peel or raisins and spices into the dough, try it out and let me know how it works.
Technical pointers
Kneading: Do it in a machine for ease but you can do it by hand, if you want. Either way, do it in stages to gradually and efficiently the gluten in the dough so you get fluffy lofty texture. Be patient. I did it while eating breakfast.
Rounding the dough balls: This is an important step for shaping the rolls. Watch the video below for pointers on this.
Weighing: Use a scale to weigh ingredients and to portion the dough balls. Precision will lead to consistent results. My favorite scale is very reasonably priced.
Troubleshooting: The first time out (left), my dough was under hydrated so the rise was not as lofty. They still tasted amazing. Chris and I made adjustments in the recipe so you get boffo buns from the final bake (right)! Look at the interior too. Wowza.
Video tutorial
I made the recipe over the course of two days and this video reflects that time. It’s a mashup of what I learned so you can succeed with this recipe.
How to make char siu sliders
Putting the rolls and pork together, you get a phenomenal little sandwich. If you’re going to bake your own bread, you need the stuff inside to be easy and believe me, this one’s simple:
- Make Chris’s Hot Rolls from my website’s recipe
- While the rolls bake, make the char siu pork from this PTFS (my newsletter) recipe
- Assemble the sliders:
- cut or tear a roll open
- spoon in some marinade “sauce”
- add some char siu pork slices (cut the steak and a steep angle so you’re cutting against the grain
- tuck in 1 or 2 English or Persian cucumber slices
- close and eat!
Chris’s Hot Rolls
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 230 g | 1 cup water
- 100 g diced peeled Russet or Yukon gold potato or
- 75 g | ⅓ cup sugar
- 5.5 g | 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 7 g | 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast, preferably SAF brand
- 30 g | 3 ½ tablespoons powdered milk
- 500 g | 17.6 oz bread flour, or 275g | 9.7 oz bread flour and 225g | 7.9 oz whole wheat flour
- 65 g | 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened, plus more as needed
Cross Paste
- 22 g | 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons tapioca or arrowroot starch
- ½ teaspoon neutral oil
- Scant ⅛ teaspoon white or rice vinegar
- About 2 tablespoons water
Honey-Butter Glaze
- 15 g | 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
Combine water and diced potato in a small pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover, bring to a vigorous simmer over medium heat, lower the heat to medium-low to maintain the cooking and avoid over boiling. Cook until the potato is very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the boiling subside.
Set the bowl of a stand mixer on a scale and tare the scale to set to zero. Pour in the cooked potato and water. Add water to yield 330 grams. Add the sugar, salt, and egg yolks, whisk hard until the potato disintegrates into the hot liquid and the dry ingredients dissolve, making a smooth mixture. Let cool until lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes.
Whisk the egg whites then stir in the yeast. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes for the yeast to bloom and foam a bit on top.
Using a spatula, stir in the powdered milk and flour to form a rough dough. Cover bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
Using a dough hook attachment, knead the dough on medium-low speed (3 or 4 on a KitchenAid mixer) for 1 minute, re-cover the bowl and let rest for 5 minutes. Repeat the kneading and resting 2 more times. The dough should be elastic and smooth by this point.
Finally, add the butter to the bowl and knead until the dough absorbs it and starts to ‘clean’— that is, pull away from—the bowl sides, which should take 1 to 2 minutes.
Lightly oil a clean bowl (leave your hand greased for working the dough). Transfer the dough to a lightly dust your work surface, then knead for 1 to 2 minutes to ensure the dough is well composed. It should be smooth, soft, and a little tacky. If it’s super sticky, knead in extra flour. Transfer to the oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a cozy, draft-free spot until doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.
Lightly grease a work surface and your hands with oil. Turn dough out and gently deflate it with your fingertips. Divide it into 15 or 16 balls, each weighing about 70g. Cup each ball under your palm and fingers and drag it in small circles on the work surface, to compact and tighten it. Cover balls with a damp tea towel and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Grease a 10-inch (25cm) square pan or a 9-by-13 inch (22.5-by-32.5cm) rectangular cake pan with butter, or line it with parchment paper.
Flatten a ball slightly, then draw its edges together underneath the ball, so that its upper surface rounds and tightens. Pinch the underside firmly to seal the gathered edges, then repeat the cupping and dragging to neaten the ball. Shape all buns likewise. Tuck buns into greased pan, sealed sides down, snuggling them close together. Cover pan with a tray or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let rise until almost doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
Prep the oven and cross paste: Meanwhile, reheat oven to 350F (180C) with a rack in the middle position.
For the paste, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, starch, oil and vinegar. Whisk in 2 tablespoons water to form a paste. Is the mixture thickly flowing kind of like stretchy icing? If not, whisk in water by the ¼ teaspoon. (With King Arthur all-purpose flour, I need to whisk in an extra ½ teaspoon of water beyond the initial 2 tablespoons.) Scrape into a small ziplock bag.
Pipe crosses, bake and glaze: When the buns have risen sufficiently, snip off a ⅛ to ¼-inch (3 to 6mm) hole from one corner of the bag. Then pipe a cross or make some other pattern atop each bun.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and browned. While the rolls bake, put the butter and honey in a small bowl and microwave on high until melted, about 20 seconds.To test for doneness: insert a thermometer into a roll and the temperature should read at least 190°F (88°C), or tapped a with a fingertip and it should feel slightly springy and sound hollow.
Pull the pan from the oven, brush the hot rolls with honey-butter glaze and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Reheat in a 350°F (180°C) oven or toaster oven, until warm, 6 to 10 minutes depending on quantity.
Notes
Baked rolls may be frozen, thawed, then refreshed in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 10 minutes. If they are hard, mist with water before baking.
www.vietworldkitchen.com (Article Sourced Website)
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