Japanese Green Tea Bread with Red Bean Fillings

A chain bread shop, Breadtop opened a branch in Brisbane a while ago. Every time I went there or passed by, I noticed there’s always a long queue of customers waiting for paying. It seemed that their soft buns and many breads with new tastes are really welcome not only by Asians, but also Aussies. Amongst all their tasty breads, I like their green tea buns with red bean fillings the most. The buns are wonderfully soft and fluffy. I just wonder if I can bake the same good buns as theirs. So I took an experiment and turned to the reliable tangzhong recipe the other day. The end result turned out pretty good, with soft and fluffy texture as I expected. Although the taste of my buns were a bit different from the Breadtop’s, as I used 宇治抹茶 and homemade sweet red bean paste, their look were quite similar to Breadtop’s. I’m glad that my family was very satisfied with the fluffy texture of these green tea buns. Although mine could not be compared to those professional products, I felt good that I could bake some buns looked and tasted like Japanese ones.

Japanese Green Tea Bread with Red Bean Fillings (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 350 gm bread flour (2 1/2 C)
• 55 gm caster sugar (3Tbsp + 2tsp)
• 5 gm salt (1tsp)
• 56 gm egg  (1 large egg)
• 7 gm milk powder (1Tbsp + 1tsp to increase fragrance, optional)
• 125 ml milk (1/2C)
• 120 gm tangzhong (refer to this recipe for making tangzhong)
• 5 to 6 gm instant yeast (2tsp)
• 30 gm butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)
• 2 tsp green tea powder
• 240 gm sweetened red bean paste (homemade or canned)

Method:

1. Please refer to this Hong Kong Style Sausage Rolls recipe (step 1 to 3, adding the green tea powder into the bread maker along with the dry ingredients) for making dough with tangzhong. After completing the 1st round of proofing, double in size, transfer dough to a clean floured surface.
2. Deflate and divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the red bean paste into 12 equal parts. Knead each part into small balls.
4. Roll out each small dough ball with a rolling pin and flatten into a disc. Place a small red bean ball in the middle. Enclose and knead into a ball shape with the seal facing down. Repeat this step of rolling and wrapping fillings with the rest of your dough. Place onto a baking tray, lined with baking paper, covered with cling wrap and a wet towel. Leave for the 2nd round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until double in size.
5. Bake in a pre-heated 160C (320F) oven for 35 minutes, or until brown. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

(Some red beans retained as whole in the paste in order to add more textures)

Other recipes of Green Tea Bread:

• Green Tea Croissants from Thip's Bonbini
• Green Tea Buns with Green Tea Crusted Topping from Little Corner of Mine

Other tangzhong bread recipes:

• Japanese Style Bacon and Cheese Bread (with detailed steps of making tangzhong)
• Japanese Style Coconut Custard Buns
• Hong Kong Style Sausage Rolls
• Apple Custard Buns
• Nutella Cream Horns
• Hokkaido Milk Toast (Japanese style)
• Pai Bao (排包 Hong Kong Sweet Buns)
• Braided Raisin Walnut Bread (Tangzhong Method) 
• Pineapple Buns (For Pig Pig’s Corner)