Sweet Bread (Pai-Pau)

I used Jerseymom's recipe from KC. What prompted me to try this bread was the great reviews given by those who had tried it and posted their pictures. It looked really soft and easy to make.

I encountered minor problem in the beginning because I forgot to add an additional milk to replace the water used for her yeast. I was using instant yeast and it doesn't require that step. Thus, my dough was not wet enough so I just improvised by adding more melted butter and oil to make it pliable. *I only remembered about the liquid after I done kneading the dough* One more obstacle I encountered was it was a cold day and my dough just won't proof or double in size. I tried the warm water in the microwave trick, managed to proof a little, and that's about it. So, I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.




Was I glad that it turned out alright after all. Got to taste one when it was still warm from the oven and it sure soft to the bite. I brushed the top with maple syrup and it added to the sweet taste of the bread. A yummy sweet bread indeed and a recipe to keep. Thanks Jerseymom! :o)

The real challenge comes tomorrow since this is the first time I made bread without any bread improver, hope that it will still remain soft.

Verdict: It harden the next day but a quick pop in the Microwave solved the problem (10 seconds for one).



(Recipe courtesy of Giselle/Jerseymom)
Ingredients

(A)
2.5 tsps dry yeast 
375g High gluten/bread flour* (may use more or less)
105g sugar 
1 egg... room temp.
1 egg yolk... room temp
2 Tbps butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk, UHT or fresh ... room temp.
1-2 drop(s) yellow food colour

(B)
egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten syrup (to brush on the bread right after baked, but I haven't tried this)

Steps (the following proving time is for reference only, my kitchen is quite cool)

1. Disolve dry yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water, wait 5 - 10 mins.
2. Mix the yeast liquid with the rest of (A), knead until smooth and elastic. The dough supposes to be wet but not sticky.
3. Let the dough sit in a geased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. 1st proving for about 45 mins.
4. Punch the dough to release some air, knead a few times, put back in the bowl, covered, for 2nd proving, 45 mins or double the volumn.
5. Divide the dough into small balls (45g), roll smooth, cover and let them relax for 20 mins.
6. Flatten and roll each ball into a (roughly) rectangle (0.5cm-thick). Start from the long side, roll it up as swissroll.
7. Place the rolls in a gease tray (mine is 18 x 28 cm... if yours *slightly* smaller should be better), leaving about 0.5 cm gap between each roll (too jammed or too far part will affect the appearence after baking). Cover, and rest the dough for 45mins or until almost double the size.
8. Preheat the oven to 180C, brush the egg wash on top, bake for 20 - 25 mins. Brush syrup when it just comes right out from the oven.

* Note to US members: highly recommend the flour imported from Asian (buy it from asian supermarket) which I found the result is far much better than that of US flour.