Who doesn't like some good bakery buns? One of my favorites is Pineapple Bun. I really love the sweet crumbly toppings combined with the soft bun. Moreover, I always like having my bakery buns with some kind of fillings in it so I went with cream cheese. Yes, it tasted amazing and I have been hooked on these for the past few weeks.
Even though it's call pineapple bun, actually there's traditionally no pineapple in there. The topping resembles the look of a pineapple which is where the name came from. Here's how you can make this addictive bun as well.
Ingredients:
Glutinous Starch (Tangzhong):
1 ⅔ tbsp of Bread Flour
½ cup of Water
Bread Dough:
2 ¾ cup of Bread Flour
4 tbsp of Sugar
1/4 oz or 1 packet of Instant Yeast
1/2 cups of Warm Milk
1 Egg (room temperature)
3 tbsp of Unsalted Butter (softened)
1 1/2 tsp of Kosher Salt
3 tbsp of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Topping:
1 ½ cup of Cake Flour
1 cup of Powder Sugar
3 tbsp of Melted Butter
1 tbsp of Whole Milk (room temperature)
1 Egg Yolk (room temperature)
¼ tsp of Baking Soda
½ tsp of Baking Powder
2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
Fillings:
8 oz of Cream Cheese
1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
½ cup of Powder Sugar
2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
Step 1) Glutinous Starch: Add the bread flour and water to a saucepan. Cook the mixture on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-7 min or until thick paste formed. This paste is supposed to help make the bun more soft and fluffy.
Step 2) Bun dough: Add flour, sugar, and instant yeast to a mixing bowl. Give it a good stir.
Step 3) Add the warm milk, previously prepared glutinous starch, egg, and condense milk to the mixture. Use an electric hand mixer with dough hook attached and give the mixture a good mix for about 3-5 minutes or until a rough dough form (it’s ok for the dough to look a little dry at this point).
Step 4) Add the softened butter and salt to the mixture and continue mixing for about 8-10 min or until the dough becomes elastic and stretchy. It’s ok for the dough to be a little sticky.
Step 5) Shape the dough into a ball and put it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place the bowl in a warm place. Let it rise for about 1 ½ to 2 hrs, it should be doubled in size.
Step 6) Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Fold each of the dough pieces couple of times before rolling it into a ball. To help the buns be more round and reduce flattening, fold from one side of the dough like a dumpling. Then take the long side and pinch it together to form the ball.
Step 7) Place the dough balls into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place it in a warm place to further rise. Make sure to leave some spaces between each of the dough balls as they will expand and become bigger.
Step 8) Bun toppings: Put the cake flour, powder sugar, baking powder, and baking soda into a mixing bowl and give it a good mix before you add the wet ingredients. Now add egg yolk, melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract into the mixture.
Step 9) Using a plastic spatula or a spoon, give the mixture a good mix.
Step 10) Knead the topping dough with your hand for about 3-5 min or until the dough become smooth. If the dough is looking a bit crumbly don't worry, we want the dough to be a bit crumbly so that it cracks while baking. These cracks will give the buns the pineapple look.
Step 11) Divide the dough topping into 16 equal pieces and shape into balls so that it will be easier to roll.
Step 12) Roll the dough topping balls into flat circle shape. Set aside.
Step 13) Once the bun doughs are finished proofing, uncover and assemble. Take the topping doughs and place on top of the buns. Gently press the topping around the bun to securely attach them together.
Step 14) Take 2 beaten egg yolks and brush it on top of the toppings. Glazing the toppings will add a nice yellow glossy color to it.
Step 15) Pre-heat the oven at 350°F. Bake the buns for about 18-20 min.
Step 16) Put the cream cheese and 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream in a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer and give it a good mix to break down the cream cheese.
Step 17) Add the powder sugar and give it another mix.
Step 18) Then add the final 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream to the mixture and whip until its smooth and reaches stiff peaks. Transfer it to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a round piping tip.
Step 19) Once the buns are finished baking, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 5-10 min.
Step 20) Poke a hole with the round piping tip in the back of the bun and fill it up with the cream cheese filling. Don't overfill it to prevent the cream cheese filling from spilling out from the top/sides.
Step 21) Your cream cheese pineapple buns are completed and ready to eat!
Tips:
Let the dough rise t0 at least twice its original size before taking it out to prevent it from being too dry. Depending on the temperature, it could take longer to rise so you may need to adjust how long to let it sit.
Use warm milk but make sure it's not too hot to prevent killing the yeast.
Depending on how humid or cold your environment is, the topping dough may get dry. If the dough is too dry to roll into a ball, microwave it for about 5-10 seconds until soft enough to work with. Don't over microwave it because we want to keep the dough on drier side so that the toppings will be crumbly and crack during baking.
To prevent the bun from drying out once they are completed, use plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once you are ready to eat them again, you can microwave for about 15 - 30 seconds per bun.
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