Lovers of Asian-style bread are always on a quest to find soft and fluffy bread, preferably those that keep soft and moist for days. Whether these are breads are filled with sweet or savory fillings, or eaten plain, they are equally delicious. Asian breads in general have different taste and textures from European breads, which tend to be more crusty, chewy and rely more on the natural flavors of fermentation.
Soft and fluffy breads can be created by a combination of ingredients as well as techniques. I have tried these popular methods with good results:
- Direct Method - most straightforward where ingredients are mostly worked on together, with bread completed in a few hours on same day. Kneading time is reasonable. High water content and addition of ingredients like milk, butter and egg helps keep bread tender and soft. Bread is best consumed on day of baking or following day.
- Tangzhong Method - extremely popular method. A water roux consisting of water and flour is pre-cooked and added to rest of ingredients. This roux enables better water retention, and results in light, moist and fluffy bread that remains soft for more days. Kneading time is longer than other methods and quite tedious if doing by hand, but promotes gluten development (when you pull the bread apart you will get nice strands with slight springy texture).
- Sponge (overnight or certain hours) - requires a portion of the dough ingredients (usually flour, water & yeast) to be pre-mixed together. The pre-fermentation and thus more acidic content enables better water retention, more developed flavors and a slightly more chewy texture.
- Add More Goodness - adding more goodness like heavy cream, cream cheese or yogurt adds and seals in the moisture (think of applying moisturizers on our face). The additional fats also makes this bread very tender. Advantages of this method is bread can be made on the same day, with reasonable kneading time yet keeps soft longer.
The method I employ each time varies and depends on different factors like: timing (when do I want to eat it?), time (how much time do I have?), energy level (for kneading), and intent (to keep or not to keep). While the breads made using these methods are all soft and fluffy, there are subtle variations in taste and texture for each method.
Today I will share the recipe for Pai Bao using "Add More Goodness" method. This recipe is adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover, a blog I love reading for its fresh inspiration, refreshing ideas and frank opinions. The original recipe calls for adding cream cheese which I tried with great results - soft, fluffy with a wonderful aroma. Other bloggers have also used yogurt, in place of cream cheese, successfully. I then tried using heavy (whipping) cream - the result is equally delicious, and it keeps soft for quite a few days too. Great flexible simple recipe for keeps!
PAI BAO / BREAD-ROWS RECIPE
Adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover
Makes 6 rows in 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) baking pan
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Ingredients
280g (2 cups) bread flour
42g (3 tbsp.) sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
120g (1/2 cup) milk
50g (1/4 cup) heavy cream (or cream cheese / yogurt)
40g egg (about 4/5 of an egg) - keep the rest for egg wash
30g (2 tbsp.) butter
Egg wash - remaining 1/5 egg + 1 tsp milk
* cup and spoon measurements are based on scoop & sweep method.
example: scoop measuring cup directly into flour bag, sweep off excess and level with a knife.
a) Mix & Knead
Put dry ingredients - flour, yeast and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Make a well in center, and add 40g egg, milk and heavy cream into the bowl. Use a large spoon to mix and gradually add the flour to the wet ingredients. Start kneading once ingredients are well-mixed.
This dough feels quite sticky initially. Knead for about 10 minutes and you will feel the dough becoming quite smooth and pliable. Add the butter and continue to knead.
(Optional: during kneading, when it becomes possible to pick up the dough, I bring it up, throw it hard against the countertop and fold it over itself, about 10 times every 2 minutes. Watch this video for the technique. This helps to develop gluten.)
Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic and passes the window-pane test. It should take another 10 minutes or so. To do the window-pane test: stretch the dough and if it forms a thin membrane which does not tear easily, it is done.
Shape the dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise till doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour (more during colder weather).
(Note: the time will vary based on the weather. When the weather is cold, I place the dough in the microwave or oven with a cup of hot water, without turning the oven on. This increases the temperature and humidity for the dough rise - it works well. Always do the eye-test - dough should be double in size when ready.)
c) Shape
Transfer dough to clean floured surface, deflate the dough by lightly pressing, and divide into 6 equal portions. Shape them into balls, cover with cling wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, roll out each piece of dough into an oval shape, roll into a swiss roll and pinch to seal the open ends. The sealed side should face down towards the baking pan.
d) Second rise
Arrange the bread in rows in a greased baking pan (9x9 inch/23x23 cm) and allow for second round of rising for 30 minutes to an hour in a warm and humid place. The dough should double in size when ready. If the weather is cold, I place the tray in the oven (do not turn on the oven) with a cup of hot water. Remove it 15 minutes before rising is complete to preheat the oven.
e) Bake
Preheat the oven to 355 deg F (180C) about 15 minutes before dough is ready. Right before baking, brush egg wash on surface of bread. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, remove from oven when the bread turn a nice golden-brown.
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