Taiwanese Bread

Photo: flickr user avlxyz

Ingredients

500 grams Bread flour

gram Ascorbic Acid (optional)

175 grams Iced Water

gram Dry instant yeast

5 grams Salt

100 grams Sugar

50 grams Butter

50 grams Shortening

30 grams Fresh Milk

100 grams Egg yolks

Preparation

Using part of the water from the recipe, combine it with the yeast and 50 grams of the sugar. Set aside.

Using the dough hook attachment of your machine mix together the bread flour and remaining sugar.

Pour in the yeast mixture, continue mixing at slow speed. Add water and milk in a thin stream until mixture looks completely wet. Add more water as necessary.

Increase the speed and add in the butter and shortening in pieces until mixture looks completely lubricated. Add egg yolks then the salt. Continue mixing at high speed until dough leaves the sides of the bowl clean.

Continue mixing until gluten is developed. Test the dough by getting a small piece and stretching it, it should not break easily and should feel elastic. The dough will be VERY sticky.

Rest the dough in a large greased bowl (turning dough once to grease top). Cover with plastic. Do not disturb for about 30 minutes.

At this point you can shape the dough into anything you want. For Filipino Ensaimada: Divide the dough into two. Divide each half into 50 gram pcs. Roll up each dough tightly into a bun. Place in a greased tray, cover with greased plastic and set aside for 10 minutes. Roll each dough into a rectangle and slather generously with butter. Cover the entire surface with grated cheese (edam works excellently) and roll up on the long side into a thin baton. Coil this baton into a tight cinnamon bun shape and place in round, greased fluted molds OR in large muffin tins. Butter the tops and set aside to let it rise until double. This might take between 1 to 2 hours (depending on the temperature of your kitchen - for faster rising<

Just before baking brush tops GENTLY with egg beaten with a few tablespoons of water. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for approximately 18 to 25 minutes. Tops should be just golden. Because the dough is so rich the bread will turn brown easily.

Remove immediately to cooling racks. Brush with more butter and sprinkle with a little sugar and more grated cheese.

NOTES : This is my first time to post in this list, so please bear with me :) I don't own a bread machine and usually just bake bread by hand when I'm at home. I used to work for a food ingredients company that sells (among other things) bread improvers for the local baking industry.

This recipe was a favorite of ours and I've scaled it down considerably. I don't know how to make it in a bread machine, but for those with a Hobart mixer, there should be no problems with it. I've demonstrated this bread many times and people usually ask me for the recipe. It's very versatile and can be shaped into almost anything you wish, plus, the dough, although very rich, can accommodate addition of other ingredients.