If you have followed me on my social, you will know that this is my 2nd attempt at making this pull apart bread. During the 1st attempt, I have leftover dough, which resulted in 20 pieces of dough balls instead of 15. The best part? My bread was burnt during the baking process. A blessing in disguise, because I learned so much from my mistakes.
Here's the previous 1st attempt:
I restructured the entire dough recipe to fit perfectly into a 9" round cake pan. As for the fillings, I decided to go with some salted egg fillings from Hexa. I never knew that salted egg blends so well with bread. Maybe I should make a salted egg spread for toast? Hmm...
This recipe does take a bit of work and patience. But it is 100% worth it in the end. Me and my 2 kids finished the entire bread in 1 sitting as soon as I unmolded it. The bread is soft, chewy with a bit of cwispiness and that salted egg just gives that extra oomph! You really have to give this a try.
Ingredients:
(Serve 8)
Fillings:
Unsalted Butter, 115g
Icing Sugar, 100g
Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder, 160g
Milk Powder, 46g
Cornstarch, 43g
Evaporated Milk, 72g
Pure Vanilla Paste, 1 TSP
Dough:
Unbleached Bread Flour, 383g
Active Instant Dry Yeast, 3g
Granulated Sugar, 21g
Sea Salt, 5g
Sesame Oil, 21g + More For Brushing
Eggs Lightly Beaten, 75g + More For Egg Wash
Egg Yolks, 27g
Water, 169g
White Sesame Seeds, For Garnishing
Black Sesame Seeds, For Garnishing
Equipment:
9" Round Cake Pan
Oven
Hand / Stand Mixer
Directions:
Prepare the fillings.
In a large bowl, add butter.
With a hand or stand mixer, whip the butter until light and fluffy.
Add in sugar and continue whipping until well combined.
Next, add Hexa salted egg sauce powder, milk powder and cornstarch.
Continue whipping until everything is incorporated fully.
You should get a crumbly mixture.
Lastly, mix evaporated milk and vanilla until well combined.
You should get a thick and smooth consistency.
Cover and set aside in the fridge overnight.
Prepare the dough.
In a large bowl, add flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
Mix until well combined.
*Do not add the yeast directly onto the salt, or vice versa. Doing so will kill the yeast.*
In a separate large bowl, add oil, eggs, yolks and water.
Mix until well combined.
*To measure eggs, simply whisk 2 eggs until lightly beaten. Measure and weigh. Save the remaining eggs for the egg wash at a later stage.*
Transfer the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Mix until it comes together into a dough.
Once it becomes a dough, knead the dough inside the bowl until all the nooks and crannies of flour are kneaded into the dough, about 8 mins.
The dough should be quite tacky, but not sticky.
If the dough is too dry, add in water, 1 TBSP at a time. If the dough is too sticky, add in flour, 1 TBSP at a time.
Shape the dough into a large ball and transfer it into a lightly greased bowl.
Cover and ferment in the fridge overnight.
The next day, sit the dough at room temperature for 2 hrs.
After 2 hrs, fold the sides of the dough ball into the middle, flip, form it into a ball and transfer it back into the bowl.
Cover and set aside for 1 more hr.
After 1 hr, weigh and divide into 15 equal pieces.
Shape each piece into tight dough balls.
*Keep the rest of the dough covered with cling film or a kitchen towel.*
Cover and set aside for 30 mins.
While the dough is rising, weigh and divide the salted egg fillings into equal pieces as well.
Gently pack and roll each piece into cohesive pieces. It is okay if they are not perfectly shaped.
Cover and set aside in the fridge.
After 30 mins, grease the cake pan lightly with sesame oil.
Flatten out each dough ball into a disc. You can do this by hand or with a rolling pin.
Wrap each salted egg filling piece with a dough ball.
Seal the dough properly or it will leak during the baking process.
Transfer to the greased pan.
You should be able to pack all 15 pieces in.
*Again, keep the rest of the dough balls covered with cling film or a kitchen towel, and if the fillings start to soften, keep them chill in the fridge while working on the rest of the dough balls.*
Cover the dough and set aside to rise for 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 175 degree celsius or 350 fahrenheit.
Lightly brush the dough with some egg wash.
Sprinkle some white and black sesame seeds over the top.
Wack into the oven and bake for 20 mins.
After 20 mins, rotate and continue baking for another 20 to 30 mins or until the top is beautifully glossy brown.
*The bread will continue rising in the oven while baking. I baked on the lower shelf of my oven.*
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.
Run a spatula along the edges and unmold onto a serving plate.
Serve immediately.
The bread can be kept for up to 3 days, wrapped in a paper bag at room temperature.
Fresh outta the oven...
Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder...