These cheese and bacon buns are so fragrant and perfect for breakfast or snack. The dough was proofed at low temperature in fridge in order to bring up more aroma from the flour. The cheese I used was smoked. On top of all buns were sprinkled with cheese powder. Who can resist these soft, super fragrant buns? None of us in the family can. So, the minute when these buns came out from the oven, two were gone in a minute literally. For those who like using tangzhong (water roux), you might try this cheese and bacon bread.
Bacon and Cheese Buns (Printable recipe)
By
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 170 mins + plus proofing time in fridge
Yield: 12 buns (each about 53 grams without fillings)
Ingredients:
Method:
By
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 170 mins + plus proofing time in fridge
Yield: 12 buns (each about 53 grams without fillings)
Ingredients:
- 250 ml milk, room temperature
- 50 gm whisked egg + plus some for egg wash
- 35 gm sugar
- 5 gm salt
- 13 gm full cream milk powder
- 300 gm bread flour
- 40 gm cake flour
- 5 gm instant dry yeast
- 30 gm butter, softened at room temperature
- cheese powder, for sprinkle
- 100 gm smoked cheddar cheese, diced
- 100 gm diced bacon, sauté till aromatic
Method:
- Mix all ingredients (except butter) in a breadmaker, by adding the wet ingredients followed by the dry ingredients. Or you can knead by hand.
- When all the ingredients just come together, knead in butter until the dough passes the thin membrane test. (The dough could be stretched to a thin membrane, as shown in the above picture). Let the dough proof until doubled in size.
- Deflate the dough and knead into a ball shape. Place it in a plastic container or plastic bag. Refrigerate for about 12 to 16 hours.
- Remove the dough from fridge. Deflate it and divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each into a ball shape. Cover with a plastic film. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Roll each portion into a 7cm dough disc. Wrap a full heaped teaspoon of cheese and a full heaped teaspoon of bacon inside. Put it in a hole of muffin tray. Finish wrapping the remaining dough portions and fillings. Cover with plastic film and let them proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- About 5 to 10 minutes towards the end of proofing time, preheat oven to 170C/ 335F. Brush the surface of each dough with whisked egg. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the buns from the oven. Sprinkle cheese powder on top. Turn them out from the tray onto a wire rack. Serve warm. The leftovers can be kept in an air-tight plastic bag or container.
Notes：
- Smoked cheddar cheese is available at supermarkets. Or you might use any kind of cheese you like.
- I like to sauté the bacon first to bring up more fragrance and render/skim the fat.
- This dough is quite wet and sticky at the beginning. It needs more effort and patience if you knead by hand. That's why I used my breadmaker.
Hi, I have been loving your posts on the cake and breads, especially the butter buns and the Japanese cheesecake... they are yummy!!! But I do need some advise from you... pls kindly help to advise if I am able to replace the egg in the bread dough for other ingredient?? My kids do not like the egg's smell/taste in the bread... Pls help...
ReplyDeleteHi Celena,
DeleteFor your case, you can simply skip the egg when making the dough. Try to add a bit of water or milk to adjust the dough texture as you go.
Hi Christine, pls kindly advise if I am able to replace the egg in the dough to butter or other ingredient?? my kids prefer eggless bread... =(
ReplyDeleteThese would make a great dinner with either a bowl of cold soup or a green salad....they look super, Christine.
ReplyDeleteHi christine, can we skip the fridge step? What will happen if we do?
ReplyDeleteYou can skip the chilling step.
DeleteThe slow proofing process in the fridge will bring up the fragrance of the flour.
These buns are so adorable and they look delectable! I absolutely adore the bacon inside!
ReplyDeleteHi Christine,
ReplyDeleteI tried your cheese and bacon bread. It taste amazing. Two thumbs up. I would like to try the bun version. Can I substitute cake flour with multipurpose flour? And I don't include tangzhong in this recipe rite.Thank you.
Sure, you can use all purpose flour instead if you don't mind the texture will be slightly different.
DeleteNo need to add tangzhong. The water content in this recipe is quite high already.
Hi Christine!
ReplyDeleteI think I've tried almost all of your bread and cake recipes with wonderful results! Thank you for posting such great recipes. I do have a question though in general about baking bread buns on a cookie sheet instead of in a muffin tin. Sometimes during the 2nd proofing, the dough spreads outwards so it becomes flatten instead of looking tall and round like the ones in your picture. Would you happen to know what I can do to fix this problem? Thank you!
I also encountered the same problem as you shared here. If the dough is soft and light, it tends to spread and flatten a bit during the 2nd round of proofing. So, a muffin tin or a large cake liner will help your bread proof nice and tall.
DeleteHi Christine, how do I replace milk powder? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe milk powder is to enhance the fragrance.
DeleteYou can skip it if you don't have any.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteCan I just use cheddar cheese (not smoked)? Thanks :)
Of course, you can use any cheese you like.
DeleteHi Christine. I love your recipes! Is the 12-16 hours in fridge absolutely necessary! And if so is it ok if it's left longer like 24 hours?
ReplyDeleteNot necessary.
DeleteBut letting the dough proof in low temperature will give more flavours. You might like to bake it straight away after 2nd proofing.
Over-proofed dough will develop a smell of alcohol.
Hi Christine, I also lived in oz and I was wondering which brand of bread flour you are using for this recipe? The bread flour I was using seemed not able to absorb all the liquid ingredients. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI often use Defiance, White Baker's Flour, available at Coles. This bacon and cheese buns were made with this brand.
DeleteI dont hv a bread maker can i use kitchen aid wit d hook?
ReplyDeleteSure, the kitchenAid with dough hook can do it.
DeleteHi Christine, my breadmaker's instruction is to add the butter as dry ingredient before kneading. Your recipes however call for butter to be added after the dough had been kneaded, will there be any difference? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Clarinase,
DeleteIf butter, or any oil, is added at the beginning, it coats the protein fragments as a result that stronger gluten is difficult to be formed. If you want soft and fluffy bread, you need to wait all ingredients come together before adding butter.
If you want to make a tight-crumbed bread like a pound cake, then add butter at the beginning.
Hi christine
ReplyDeleteWhich function shall I use to do the dough with my breadmaker? Jz the normal basic dough is good enough?
Hi Alisha,
DeleteI often use the "dough" function that includes kneading and proofing.
Think that your breadmachine is more or less the same. That'll be good enough.
Remember to test your dough if it passes the window-pane test.
Hi christine
ReplyDeleteJz another question. Can I substitute cake flour with plain or self raising flour?
You can't replace with self raising flour as it's added with a raising agent already.
DeleteBut you can use plain flour instead. The texture of the end result will be different, not as soft as mine.
Btw, can I use active yeast instead of instant dry yeast?
ReplyDeleteYou can use active dry yeast. For making this recipe, you need about 6.25 grams of active dry yeast. Let it proof in warm water (not above 40C, a small amount taken out from the recipe) dissolved with a bit of sugar for 10 minutes. Having seen some bubbles arise, mix it with other ingredients.
DeleteI would like to thank you for teaching me how to bake bread. I have started baking bread following your blog a month ago and enjoyed it totally. Can I use soya bean milk instead of milk for this recipe?
ReplyDeleteMany thanks
Hi Mindy,
DeleteYou're welcome.
Sure, you can use soya bean milk instead. Same amount.
Hi Christine, can I substitute cake flour with superfine flour?
ReplyDeleteCake flour is low protein flour.
DeleteIs your superfine flour low in protein content?
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteI love your recipes, have been learning butter bun and have no problems in making this and my child love it very much too. Today i try to make bacon & cheese buns and i met some problems. It keeps stick on my hand (i have knead for 20mins already), so i let it raise for double size it still stick on my hand. Please advise me why is it so ?? Thank you, Fanny
Glad that your family loves these buns.
DeleteFor the bacon & cheese one, tangzhong is added so the dough is quite sticky to your hands. That's why I often use my bread machine to help knead the dough.
Did you test your dough? It should pass the window-pane test. Otherwise, it'll still be very sticky after proofing.
Hi Christine, may I know what shall we do if the window pane test is not passed? Do we need to continue kneading it? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIf the dough doesn't pass the window pane test, that means not enough gluten is generated inside. You can keep kneading until it passes the test or close to the passing point.
DeleteNo worries. If your dough doesn't pass the test, you can still bake it. The buns may not be soft as you expected though. They still taste good. It's no harm.
How much of tangzhong to add dear Christine? Sorry am new to baking. Tq.
ReplyDeleteHi Rajasvary,
DeleteThis recipe doesn't need any tangzhong at all. The ingredients are listed in the recipe. Simply combine and knead them into a dough.
Im gonna try on this recipe! ! Look n sounds good
ReplyDeleteCan i use oven instead of BM. The reason is i dont have. I seldom do bread so that is why i not keen of buying. Pls advice me. Tqvm
ReplyDeleteSure, you can knead the dough by hand, then bake it in an oven.
DeleteThanks for the recipe. Doesn't the dough become dry when refrigerated for such a long time ?
ReplyDeleteHi Glory,
DeleteThe dough should be kept in a large air-tight container. Then it won't be air-dried in the fridge.
Can I use water instead of milk? Can the bread keep soft for many days? Is this bread recipe similar to the butter bun recipe? I am looking for a basic bread recipe that can make loaf bread and otah bun. Tks.
ReplyDeleteNo problem. You can use water instead. The milk is to enhance the fragrance of the bread.
DeleteThis bread is not made with tangzhong so it won't be kept soft as many days as tangzhong breads. Just like other regular bread. If you store them in an air-tight container, they'll be kept longer.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteCan i replace bread flour with whole wheat high protein flour instead? Thank you.
You can if you like. The texture of the end product wouldn't be like mine anyway.
DeleteHi Christine, do you know where I can get bread flour and cake flour in Australia? I can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI got bread flour from Coles, and cake flour from Asian grocers.
DeleteHi Christine,
ReplyDeleteI usually follow your tz recipe but this time i would like to try this recipe instead. I noticed tht the dough is very wet & i used bread maker to do the kneading. I baked it as a loaf in the bread pan & the bread top didnt rise well. Pls help advise. Thanks much
Have you checked the texture of your dough before popping it in your oven?
DeleteNormally speaking, you can tell how the loaf will be like before baking? If the dough is kneaded and passed the window-pane test, proofed properly, you have higher chance of getting a nice-rising tangzhong bread.
My dough rose while in bread maker but had a flat top. When I tip the dough out it was very wet and almost runny. I had to add extra flour and yeast and mix it again to firm it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened
Hi Anna,
DeleteIf your dough was very wet and almost runny, many possible causes might've happened.
It could be the yeast died, or the dough was over-heated, or over-kneaded or the measurement was wrong etc. You're the only person who can think through what went wrong in the process.
Hi Christine, you mentioned that this dough is quite wet and sticky in the beginning. May I know how long did you use your bread machine to knead the dough please?
ReplyDeleteHi Wern,
ReplyDeleteThe design of every brand of bread machines is quite different. And the kneading time is different too. Some machines have got resting-time in between.
I've got 2 machines. The kneading time is about 25 to 30 minutes. Check your own.
More importantly, you need to check your dough instead of relying on measuring time.