Soy milk pumpkin bun (pau) with red bean filling

I have always wanted to make 'pau', somehow I was not courageous enough. I am not great with anything that requires 'proofing'. But the lil' fella is a big fan of 'pau'. When we were at the dim sum restaurant on Sunday, he also had his portion of the pau (only the pau skin, cos he isn't eating any meat yet or anything too flavorful like the char siu in the pau). Poor him, the char siu filling was so generous that he didn't have much skin to eat. So I decided to try my luck with steamed bun (pau). I have done mantou before. I should be fine (keeping my fingers crossed).

 

This time, I went through a lot of blogs about making pau to decide on the best pau recipe. Finally, I decided on the recipe by Carol. But I dunno if I've missed out when reading through her blog (in Chinese) or it was the fact that her pau recipe didn't contain any oil or shortening, I added in 'butter' to mine (this I referenced Honey Bee Sweets, cos she too used Carol's recipe and accidentally added butter into hers and it turned out to be the best pau recipe ever, shouldn't go wrong ai?).

 

I had some nice fragrant red bean paste made few weeks ago and was stored in the freezer. It was not sweetened yet. I made it into a thick red bean paste by cooking it with some brown sugar.

 

I came across Sonia's pretty pumpkin bun shaped like a pumpkin, but I wanted to use Carol's recipe (which was plain), so I just added in pumpkin puree to replace partial amount of water/milk.

 

I made plain ones, but braided for the lil' fella. I learnt of the pretty braided shape from Mui.

Wrap the lid with a tea-towel so that the condensate won't go back onto the pau.

Prior to steaming.

After steaming.

 

Pumpkin bun with red bean filling.

Soft fluffy plain pumpkin pau for the lil' fella.

 

Recipe modified and translated from Carol.

*old dough 100g *I did this step too, according to her, it improves the fragrance and texture to great extent. But I had to leave mine in room temperature for about 3hours for it to double its size. It didn't proof when in the fridge.

*Hong Kong flour 300g (I didn't use pau flour, cos I went through the ingredient list, it already contain sugar, shortening etc in it, I didn't want it. I wanted to adjust my own)

*Instant active yeast 1tsp

*Warm unsweetened soymilk 100g

*Pumpkin puree 80g

*Brown sugar 20g

*Salt 1/8 tsp

*50g butter, cut into small cubes, left at room temperature

 

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients, except for the butter, and knead. Add in butter when all ingredients are combined. I used a bread machine to knead. Knead until the dough is stretchy and has smooth surface (about 10min in a bread machine).

2. Leave to proof in an oiled bowl till it double its size. (I did this for about an hour, cos it was early in the morning when I did this, and the weather was quite cool, I had to leave it on the top of fridge to proof).

3. On a floured surface, punch the risen dough to knock out all the trapped gas.

4. Divide into small pieces weighing 50g  (I should be able to use 35g in future).  

5. Roll into flat round dish (thin on the edge and slightly thicker in the middle).

6. Wrap about 35g red bean filling in it.

7. Place onto non-stick parchment paper.

8. Let proof for another 30-40min.

9. Steam in vigorously boiling water for about 12min. Wrap the lid with a tea towel to prevent the condensate from dropping back onto the pau, which will uglify the outlook. Do not open the lid right away. Let cool gently so that the skin of the pau wont turn wrinkly.

 

For the plain, braided bun

From step 4 onwards,

4. Divide into small pieces weighing about 40g. For each piece, divide further into 3 lot and roll into thin sticks. Braid.

5. Roll the braid and place in silicone cupcake liner.

6. Let proof for another 30-40min.

7. Steam the same way as above.

Overall, I am very very satisfied with the outcome. Love the buttery aroma that lingers in my kitchen. I considered this an easy one, cos I did most of the kneading using my bread machine. This is definitely a keeper recipe, and I'm already thinking of making a savory meat pau for mom when she's back in Sandakan this Thursday.

 

I also made extra for a babies' play date happening this afternoon. It's Hari Raya Qurban today, so it's a public holiday where we are. Happy holiday chumps!

 



I am also submitting this soy pumpkin pau recipe to the Little Thumbs Up "Soy Beans" event organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake. You can link your soy recipes here.