Baked Char Siew Buns By Sharron Wee

Baked Char Siew Buns 

* Prepare TZ in advance

( 25g Bread Flour + 125 Water)

** Mix the above ingredient together in a pan.  Use low fire to heat the mixture. Stirring constantly.  Initially it will remain a liquid, but it will undergo a change after a few mins and thicken to a creamy texture. Lines will appear while u are stirring. Remove from heat immediately and pour the mixture into a shallow dish. Cover with cling wrap to prevent the surface from drying. Allow TZ to cool to room temp before you add it into the bread dough.

Ingredients for Bread Dough
1/2 beaten egg
35g condensed milk
83g tangzhong

60ml water

200g bread flour

50g cake flour

50g castor sugar

7g yeast

5g salt

20g unsalted butter

Ingredients for fillings

350g char siew. diced into very small pieces

5 shallots, sliced thinly and nicely deep fried

Seasoning

120ml water

1.5tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark sauce

2 tbsp fine sugar

3 tbsp of the char siew sauce that you will receive from the roast meat stall

1.5tbsp corn flour

1.5tbsp plain flour
( you may also add 2tbsp of oyster sauce for a slightly saltier oomph!)

In a large bowl add all the seasoning together and pour them into a non-stick pan. Use a whisk to help rid flour lumps. Heat sauce in medium fire and stir consistently until it thickens. Pour the char siew and fried shallots into mixture and mix evenly. Cook for a minute to form a starchy filling. Allow to cool before use.

METHOD

Prepare bread dough in a bread machine, add wet ingredients first followed by the dry. I am using Kenwood BM. Press dough Function #8.  This feature requires 1.5 hour incorporating proofing.

Once dough is ready in BM, remove and place on a floured worktop, punch dough to release the trapped air. Flour your hands and shape dough into a ball. Let it proof for another 15 mins, cover with cling wrap.

After 15mins proofing,  weigh the dough individually and make small round balls of  approx. 60g each. Flatten each dough with a well floured rolling pin, add 2 - 3 tbsp of char siew filling  onto the center of each dough. Wrap the dough and seal it up using finger tips to pinch and close the gaps. Round into balls again and transfer to a baking tray line with baking paper.

Leave dough to proof for an hour before bake. Pre-heat oven 180 degree. Egg wash the buns then Bake them for approx. 18-20mins.

Note * if the dough is too sticky to handle even though  u have floured ur working mat or hands,  do oil ur hands with a few drops of oil instead. Works nicely!