It's ham N cheese

It's been sometime since I last posted something on bread buns. I have been making bread, albeit less frequent, but I didn't get around to post them.

After giving up on baking a nice Japanese souffle cheesecake, that doesn't sink like the titanic, I seek comfort by making a batch of bread rolls.

These are ordinary bread buns made with tangzhong or water roux method. The only difference is the way of shaping them to look like roses. I wrapped in ham and cheese slices to turn them into wonderful breakfast items. I tried two different method of shaping and only one of them worked well for me.

These rose buns are made by wrapping the ham and cheese slices with 3 separate pieces of dough, one after another. The texture of the bread was not affected by the layers of dough. They tasted so delicious freshly baked that I gobbled down two in a row, lol!

Care to join me for some tea? No dainty desserts and high quality tea, but I can always offer you a slice of homemade cake or a fat rose bun over a cup of lipton ;)

• Ham and Cheese Buns
• (makes 12 buns)
• tang zhong (water-roux):
• 20g bread flour
• 100ml water
• bread dough:
• 195g bread flour
• 90g cake flour
• 12g milk powder
• 30g caster sugar
• 6g salt
• 6g instant yeast
• 60g egg, lightly beaten
• 65g water
• 75g tang zhong (water-roux)
• 45g unsalted butter
• 6 slices of breakfast ham (round shape)
• 6 slices of sandwich cheese

to make tang zhong:

Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with a hand whisk to prevent it from burning. Within 1 to 2 mins, the mixture will start to thicken, stop when you see traces in the mixture for every stir you make with the hand whisk. (Take a look at the video clip here.) The 65degC tang zhong is ready. Immediately transfer the hot tang zhong into a bowl and cover it with a cling wrap, making sure the cling wrap sticks onto the surface of the mixture. This is to prevent a film from forming on the surface. Leave to cool completely before using it.

to knead dough by bread machine:

* Place water, egg, tang zhong (use 75g), sugar, salt, bread flour, cake flour, milk powder in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Make an indentation on the flour and add in the instant yeast. Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. Leave the lid of the machine open (this is to prevent over heating). After about 10mins of kneading, add in the 45g of butter. Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 15~20mins. Remove dough from the bread pan.

* Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.

* Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide the dough into 18 equal portions (30g each). Roll each dough into smooth rounds, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.

* On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough into a round disc about the size of the ham. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough.

* Place a slice of ham followed by a piece of cheese on a flattened dough. Roll up. Place the rolled dough, seam side down on another piece of flattened dough. Roll up again. Repeat with another piece of dough. Pinch and seal the seams and cut the roll into two equal halves. Place cut-side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Repeat with the rest of the doughs.

* Cover doughs with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 mins or until golden brown (tent with a foil if the top browns too quickly closer to end of the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬