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Anpan

Anpan

If you follow me long enough, you'd realise I am a huge fan of Japanese pastry. I made the classic anpan: soft buns filled with sweet red bean paste (using Azuki beans). I'll try making a similar version of this in matcha flavour next time. Check out my recipe below.
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Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 10 buns

Ingredients
  

For the bread

  • 20 g Unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 100 ml Semi-skimmed milk
  • 100 ml Water
  • 2 tsp dried active yeast
  • 330 g all-purpose flour/ bread flour
  • 10 g Cane sugar

For filling

  • 1 cup Azuki beans
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • ½ tsp Salt

For decoration

  • Black sesame seed
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 Large egg

Instructions
 

Red bean paste

  • Boil 1 cup of Azuki beans over medium-high heat for the next 1 hour. Keep adding water when the water evaporates to keep the beans submerged.
  • Drain the beans and blend them in a food processor into a fine paste.
  • Transfer the red bean paste into a pot.
  • Add 1/2 cup sugar (in two rounds) and 1/2 tsp salt and continue to stir the mixture for 15 minutes.

Bread

  • Add 330g all-purpose flour, 2 tsp dried active yeast, 2 tsp salt, 10 g cane sugar, 100ml water and 100ml semi-skimmed milk into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly using hand until a dough begins to form. 
  • Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begins the hand-kneading process for 10 minutes until the dough gets more elastic and less sticky. 
  • Then, add 20g unsalted butter to the dough and continue kneading for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and silky. (Hand kneading refers to - fold the dough, pulling it apart, putting it back together, banging it against the surface and repeating the whole process again.
  • Place your dough back into a mixing bowl and set aside for proofing purposes for 1 hour for it to rise.  
  • After 1 hour, transfer the dough onto your work surface and punch it down to remove gas bubbles formed by the yeast. 
  • Let it rise for another 15 minutes.
  • Then, divide the dough into 10 portions and smoothen each one into a round shape.
  • Let it rise for another 15 minutes.
  • Press the dough to release additional gas bubble, wrap 1 tbsp red bean paste in the dough and repeat for 10 dough balls.

Decoration

  • Add 2 tbsp water and 1 large egg into a small bowl and stir thoroughly. 
  • Brush the egg mixture on top of each doughball (egg wash).
  • Dip the end of a rolling pin into the egg mixture, subsequently into black sesame seed and then onto the red bean buns.

Bake it up

  • Bake the red bean buns in an oven preheated to 200 °C for 15 minutes.