Apple Custard Buns (Tangzhong Method)

I wouldn’t know how good this tangzhong recipe is until I tasted the fluffy buns that made from it. My friend, SK told me she nearly makes fresh bread everyday for her family with the tangzhong recipe. She’s got so many good and creative ideas of making different fillings for her buns. I can tell she’s more addicted to making tangzhong bread than me, and admire her passions. She really motivates me in turn, and I feel myself have to pick up baking bread more often. The question is that what fillings I can wrap inside the fluffy buns.

I recalled the first moment I tried the apple custard scrolls from Bakers Delight a few years ago, I immediately fell in love with their creamy custard mingled with fragrant diced apple inside. Here I experimented to whip up the filling for baking more tangzhong buns.

Apple Custard Buns (Printable recipe)

Ingredients of buns:

• 350gm/2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 55gm/3 tbsp+2 tsp caster sugar
• 5gm/1 tsp salt
• 56gm egg (equals to 1 large egg)
• 7gm/1 tbsp+1 tsp milk powder (to increase fragrance, optional)
• 125 ml/1/2 cup milk
• 120gm tangzhong (refer to this recipe for making tanzhong, use half of the amount for this recipe)
• 5 to 6gm/2 tsp instant yeast
• 30gm/3 tbsp butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)
• a handful of flaked almond, for topping
• extra whisked egg for brushing

Ingredients of custard filling:

• 200ml/4/5 cup milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 50gm/3 tbsp caster sugar
• 20gm/2 tbsp+1 tsp cake flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp butter

Ingredients of apple filling:

• 2 apples, peeled and core removed
• 60gm sugar (I used raw sugar. Caster sugar is fine too. Amount depends on how sweet the apples are.)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

Method of making fillings:

1. Place egg yolks with half of the sugar (25 grams) in a bowl. Beat until it becomes thick and pale in colour.
2. Sift in flour and combine well until smooth.
3. Use a small saucepan to heat milk and butter over low heat. Add the remaining sugar (25 grams) and cook until completely dissolved. Let cool for a while until it’s lukewarm.
4. Pour milk over the egg and flour mixture. Add vanilla essence and combine well. Drain through a sift and pour into the small saucepan. Cook over low heat with constant stirring until it thickens. Transfer to a bowl, and cover by film wrap that touches the surface to prevent from drying up (as picture shown). Let cool completely. Set aside

Method of making buns:

1. Please refer to the previous recipe to make dough with tangzhong (step 1 to 3). After completing the 1st round of proofing, double in size, transfer dough to a clean floured surface.
2. Deflate and divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes (as picture shown).
3. Meanwhile, to prepare apple filling: cut the apples into small cubes. Mix with the sugar and cinnamon powder.
4. Roll out each part with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Place custard filling evenly onto the surface of dough. Sprinkle diced apples on top. Roll from top to bottom to enclose the filling. Cut into four equal portions. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. (Note: I placed three of them in an aluminum baking tray as picture shown.) Repeat this step for the remaining dough balls and fillings. Cover with cling wrap or a wet towel. Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until double in size.
5. Brush whisked egg on surface of buns. Sprinkle almond on top. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely a wire rack.

Notes:

• I found making dough with tangzhong method is best carried out by a breadmaker as the dough is pretty wet, so kneading by hands would take more effort and time.
• Many readers from US sent emails and asked me how to convert the measurement of grams to cups. Unfortunately, there’s no one formula to do this job. So I weighted every ingredient first, then measured one by one with metric cup/teaspoon afterwards. Hope it helps you all who are interested in making the tangzhong bread.
• Kindly note that if you can buy an electric kitchen weight, it’s worth saving you from any errors in doing the conversion. Best of all, there’s no limitation for you to try all recipes you like that found on the internet. Happy baking!

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
• Japanese Green Tea Bread with Red Bean Fillings
• 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)