Bucket List Bake Club - Cardamom Bun Salt Bread
This year I am determined to complete every months Bucket List Bake Club challenge, and this month we are starting off strong with Shio Pan, also known as Salt Bread. Super fluffy dough is wrapped around a little block of butter. As the dough bakes the butter leaks out, creating a super crispy base on a deliciously flavourful dough. I wanted to add a bit of a twist to my Shio Pan, and ended up with these insanely delicious Cardamom Bun Shio Pan.
CARDAMOM BUN SHIO PAN - MAKES 8 BUNS
SHIO PAN DOUGH
20G FLOUR
100G WATER
50G MILK
20G SUGAR
⅛ TSP VANILLA BEAN PASTE
1 EGG (I USE SIZE 7 FREE RANGE EGGS)
1 TSP INSTANT DRY YEAST
250G HIGH GRADE FLOUR
1 TSP SALT
120G SALTED BUTTER, CUT INTO 15G PIECES THAT ARE 5CM LONG RECTANGLES
Make a tahnzhong by whisking the first measurement of flour and water together in a small pot. Cook over a low heat until you have a thick, paste-like mixture. Pour the tanzhong into a bowl with the milk, sugar and vanilla. Whisk to break up the tanzhong then whisk in the egg until well combined. Whisk in the yeast, then add in the flour and salt and mix to combine. Tip the dough onto the bench and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. This will take about 5 minutes by hand. The dough will be a bit sticky. Place the dough back in the bowl and spray lightly with spray oil. Cover with a tea towel or clingfilm and leave the dough to double in size at room temperature (this will take about 1 ½-2 hours) or chill the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours before using.
Once the dough has doubled, split it into 8 pieces, approximately 60g each. Flatten each piece of dough then roll it up tightly to create a log. Gently roll the end of the log to create a long weird looking triangular shape.
Working one triangle of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a long triangle. I like to do this by rolling the base first, then rolling upwards while stretching out the top of the triangle so your piece of dough is at least 30cm long (mine in the video are closer to 40cm). The dough should be 1-2mm thick, and it will look like a very weird long splodgy shape. Spread 1/8th of the cardamom butter (recipe below) evenly over the dough. Place one of the butter sticks at the base of the triangle. Pull the edges of the dough to cover the sides of the butter, then roll the dough up to encase the butter in the dough. You want to pull the top of the triangle as you do this to help make the dough thinner and create lots of layers in your shio pan. Place on a lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of dough, leaving space in between each one as they will double in size.
Spray the shio pan lightly with spray oil then leave at room temperature to double in size, this will take about 1-1 ½ hours. Preheat the oven to 190c while this happens. Bake the buns for 10-15 minutes, turning the tray halfway through, until the buns are golden brown on top. The butter will leak everywhere, this is ok! Allow the shio pan to cool ON the tray.
Once cool, brush the tops and sides of the buns with sugar syrup, then toss the buns in the bowl of cardamom sugar (recipe for both of these elements are below). These are best eaten the day they’re made, but will store for up to three days in an airtight container.
SUGAR SYRUP
50G SUGAR
50G WATER
⅛ TSP VANILLA BEAN PASTE
Bring all the ingredients to a boil and set aside to cool to room temperature. Store in the fridge for up to one week before using.
CARDAMOM BUTTER
80G VERY SOFT BUTTER
80G BROWN SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON GROUND CARDAMOM
Mix everything together until you have a smooth, spreadable butter. Use as directed for filling the cardamom buns.
CARDAMOM SUGAR
100G SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON GROUND CARDAMOM
½ TSP SALT
Mix everything together and store in an airtight container for up to one month. Use as directed above for coating the cardamom buns.