Chinese Coconut Buns Recipe 445

COCONUT BUNS (CHINESE COCKTAIL BUNS)

Steps:

• Start by making the bread dough, and be sure your ingredients are at room temperature. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer at its lowest setting.
• Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. (Note: if you're in a humid climate, and the dough is too sticky, add more flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough comes together). After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to about 1.5X its original size.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling by thoroughly combining all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
• After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and knead slowly for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.
• Flatten each piece of dough with your hands into a rough oval shape, about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Spread about a tablespoon of filling onto the middle of the dough, and roll it into a cigar, tucking the ends under the bun to completely seal the filling in. We like this method because it evenly distributes the filling throughout the bun.
• Transfer the buns to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. For the topping, mix together 1/3 cup cake flour, 3 tablespoons softened butter, and 4 ½ teaspoons caster sugar, and transfer to a piping bag or small zip top bag with a small corner cut off. Set aside.
• Once the buns have risen, brush with egg wash. Pipe two stripes of your topping mixture onto each bun, and sprinkle each with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and brush with the sugar syrup.

SIMPLE COCONUT BUNS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Dissolve 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast in the warmed milk.
• Sieve the flour into a large bowl or Kitchen Aid bowl and stir in the sugar.
• Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg, melted butter and the milk/yeast mixture.
• Mix the ingredients to form a dough that no longer sticks to the bowl.
• Knead by hand on a lightly floured board, or using the dough attachment on the Kitchen Aid, until the dough is smooth and shiny.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic film.
• Leave in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
• Return the dough to the floured board and punch down using your fists.
• Divide the dough into 32 equal pieces and roll each into a ball shape.
• Oil a 10" round cake tin with sides at least 2" high.
• Pack the dough balls into the tin and leave in a warm place for a second rising.
• Again, the dough should double in size.
• Pour the coconut milk over the buns until it reaches the top of the buns.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
• Best served warm.

CHINESE COCONUT BUNS RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• To prepare the Bun Filling: Mix everything together. Divide into 8 equal portions. To prepare the Mexican Topping: Cream softened butter and sugar until pale. Fold in flour. Transfer into a small freezer/snack bag with a tiny cut at one corner for piping (or use a piping bag fixed with a 1/2cm or smaller round nozzle). Preoare tge Water-Roux: Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring continuously until it reaches 65ºC. It should have thickened to a paste at this stage, that is when you stir you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, place a cling film over the paste and leave until lukewarm, or room temperature, before using. (Alternatively if you don't have a thermometer, cook as before until it starts to thicken, then continue to cook for about 1 more minute before removing from heat.) This water roux can be kept in an airtight container after cooling in the refrigerator for 1 day if not used immediately. However DO NOT USE if it turns grey in colour, that means it has gone bad. Prepare the Sweet Bun Dough. For the Bun Dough: Sift bread flour, plain flour, milk powder, caster sugar and salt onto the working surface. Add instant dry yeast and mix well. Form the flour mixture into a well. Add lightly beaten egg and lukewarm water roux and mix in. Gradually add just enough lukewarm water to form into a slightly sticky, soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. During hand kneading, the dough also needs to be thrown onto the working surface once every few minutes between kneading to improve the dough structure. (I usually just pick up the dough to about head-high and throw it down onto the working surface 10 to 20 times every few minutes between kneading.) Knead in butter until incorporated. (In many cookbooks, they mentioned that the dough at this stage should be able to be pulled and stretched into membrane, but it's hard to achieve with hand kneading. I usually stop kneading when the dough sticks to the work surface and stretches like chewing gum when pulled!) Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise until double in size in a large greased bowl, cover with cling film (should take about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months). Optimum room temperature for this first prove is 28°C with a humidity of 75%. To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into bread or plain flour and poke down into the centre of the dough as far as your finger will go and pull out again - the hole should remain if it is ready. If the dough springs back, then it is not ready, continue to prove further. Punch down, knead briefly and form into a ball shape. Then divide into 8 equal portions. The easiest way is to first divide equally into 2 larger portions first, then divide each of these again into quarters each. Form each into balls and let rest for 10 minutes. Take one of the 8 small divided balls and roll out with a rolling pin into a flat circle. Place one portion of the Bun Filling in the centre of dough circle. Gather the outer edges of the dough circle and wrap up the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling. Roll the sealed dough with your palm on the work surface lightly up and down to shape the dough into a cylindrical shape. Repeat with the other 7 dough balls. Let rise, lightly covered, until double in size on a lightly greased tray. When ready, brush with eggwash. Then sprinkle a little sesame seeds onto the buns and pipe 2 lines of the Mexican Topping on top of each bun. Bake in preheated 190°C oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

GUYANESE COCONUT BUNS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, and cut in using a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Add coconut, and mix just enough to blend. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

CHINESE COCKTAIL BUNS

Steps:

• Place 1/3 cup sugar and milk in a small saucepan, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/4 cup softened butter, and gently warm the mixture until the butter melts and the mixture is warm but not hot (no warmer than about 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). In a large bowl, stir together the yeast with 2 1/2 cups flour until well blended, and pour the milk mixture into the flour-yeast mixture. Stir in 1 beaten egg, and mix until the mixture forms a sticky, wet dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for about 10 minutes, gradually kneading in 1 cup of additional flour or as needed to make a smooth, elastic dough. Form the dough into a round ball, place into an oiled bowl, and turn the dough around in the bowl a few times to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a cloth, and allow dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Cream 1/4 cup softened butter with 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy, and stir in dry milk powder, 1/2 cup flour, and the coconut until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Set the filling aside.
• Working on a floured surface, punch down the dough, and cut into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece into 8 equal-sized pieces (16 pieces total). Form each piece into an oblong bun, and flatten the bun with a floured rolling pin. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a spoon, and place in the center of a bun. Pull and pinch the edges of the dough together to enclose the filling in the bun. Repeat with all dough pieces, and place the filled buns, seam sides down, onto the prepared baking sheets. Cover the buns with a cloth, and allow to rise in a warm place 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• For a glossy coating, beat 1 egg in a bowl, and brush each bun with a little beaten egg. Sprinkle each bun with a few sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the buns are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.