Whole Wheat Green Tea Bread Bun with Red Bean Filling

The green tea bread bun with red bean filling is one of my favorite sweet bread that I would usually get from BreadTop, an Asian bakery chain. The slight bitterness from green tea complements the sweetness from red bean really well. They're perfect match to each other.

I've been wanting to make green tea bread for quite sometimes; to add to my collections of green tea icecream, green tea macarons:)). Now that I have red bean paste from my green tea ice cream I made the other week, which I also wrote in my blog here. It's perfect timing to get over my procrastination and get on baking my green tea bread buns.

I used recipe of white sandwich bread from Peter Rienhart's Bread Baker Apprentice as a base and added green tea powder into the dough mixture. This bread is more like an enriched bread than a sweet bread as it only contains small amount of butter, sugar and egg.  I chose this recipe over sweet bread recipe as I think the red bean paste will enrich the bread and make it sweet enough without adding extra sugar or fat. 

The flour mix I used is 80% whole wheat flour (12% protein) and 20% plain flour (10% protein). Though, it's made from whole wheat flour, they taste rather nice and soft. The red bean filling contributes to a softer and moist bread. You can also use the unbleached bread flour, which I believe will result in a softer bread bun.

I also like to think that this bread is a relatively healthy option as it contains 80% whole wheat flour (fibre, protien, vitamin E), green tea (antioxdiant, vitamin C), red bean (protein, fibre, iron). It's a nice healthy snack option.

I brushed the bread with milk, then butter, instead of egg wash. This resulted in less shinier crust.

This post is submitted to YeastSpotting.

Whole wheat green tea bread bun with red bean paste filling recipe
make 18 medium size bread buns
(adapted from white bread recipe from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker Apprentice)

All-purpose flour

3.8 oz

110 g

3/4 cup

Whole wheat flour	15.2 oz	430 g	3 1/2 cups
Salt	0.38 oz	10 g	1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar	1.5 oz	42 g	3 tablespoons
Yeast, instant dry	0.22 oz	6 g	2 teaspoons
Green tea powder			3 teaspoons
Egg	2.1 oz	58 g	1 large egg
Butter	2 oz	57 g	1/4 cup
Full cream milk, room temp	12 oz	375 ml	1 1/2 cups

Red bean paste

1 1/2 cups

Note: you can buy red bean paste from Asian store or easily make your own by using the recipe here, it's at the bottom of the blog.


You can also use bread flour to replace the mixture of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.

You can find green tea powder (matcha powder) at Japanese or Asian store. It comes in a small tub, about 6-cm height.

1. Mix together dry ingredients and milk in  a big bowl or mixer bowl. Pour in eggs and butter and mix until all the flour is absorbed and the doughs forms a ball.The dough should be soft and supple. Adjust the flour or milk as necessary to achieve the desire texture.

2. Mix on medium speed with dough hook or transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter and begin kneading until achieve the dough pass the windowpane test. The dough will feel sticky and loose to start with but will start to come togehter once the gluten developed.

3. Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl. Rolling the dough around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or bag.

4.Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough is double in sizes.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide them into 18 equal pieces (each dough pieces should weight around 58 -60g). Roll them into balls and leave them to rest for 20 minutes (covered the dough with tea towel to prevent the skin drying out).

 

6. Gently flatten the dough into round piece (like pancake) approx 10-12 cm diameter. Place one heap teaspoon (almost the size of a golf ball) of red bean paste in the middle and wrap the dough around it. Rolling the dough into a bun shape. Continue with the rest of buns, covered other doughs with tea towel while shaping the other buns.

7. Place buns into loaf pans, baking tray or cake pan. Mist the dough surface lightly with spray oil. Cover the pans with plastic wrap or bag. Proof the dough at room temp for 60-90 mins or until almost double in size.







I flattened the dough a little bit and made about 1-cm incision around the edge of the bun


8. Preheat the oven to 190c (400f), brush the roll with egg wash (I brushed mine with milk followed by butter, this resulted in less shiny crust/surface).


9. Bake for 15 mins or until they're golden brown. Turn the trays/pans half way through the bake for even browning.


10. When they're baked, remove them from pans/trays immediately and let them cool on racks.

The red bean filling was almost dissappeared into the bread. After the dough ferementation and oven spring.

Relatively happy with the crumb