Cranberry Sweet Milk Bun 蔓越莓炼奶面包

Thinking of baking a bread to celebrate SG50🇸🇬, and this is a subtle one - no sharp contrast of red and white, but a pastel colour combination. More harmonious I think ^^

Using my popular sweet milk bun recipe to bake this sweet, soft and tangy bread. Added beetroot powder to give the bun a pastel pink centre scattered with bits of dried cranberries. The bread was baked at low temperature to give the crust a soft, smooth and shiny sheen. 

Yield: 9 small buns in a 20cm square pan

Raw Dough weight: ~522g

Temperature & Baking time:

Oven preheat to 180 degree C

Reduce and bake at 160 degree C for 10 minutes 

Further reduce to 150 degree C for 10 to 12 minutes 

Appliances:

Whirlpool Breadmaker BM1000

Ingredients A

Use fridge-cold ingredients if possible

150g cold fresh milk 冷牛奶

20g condensed milk 炼奶

40g raw sugar 黄砂糖

1/4 tsp salt 盐

25g beaten egg 蛋液

30g cold unsalted butter 冷无盐奶油

Ingredient B

225g bread flour 高筋面粉

25g top/cake flour 低筋面粉

Ingredient C

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast 速发干酵母

Ingredient D

1/4 tsp beetroot powder 甜菜根粉

Ingredient E

20g dried cranberries 蔓越莓干

Cut into bit size.

Directions

1. Line a 20cm square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Pour ingredient A into the bread pan.

3. Mix ingredient B before adding on top of ingredient A. 

4. Dig a hole in the centre of the flour, and pour ingredient C in.

5. Select "kneading" function and press start. The process will take about 1:30 hour to complete.

6. After the program ends, let the dough sits in the bread pan for about 20 minutes.

As cold ingredients have been used in this recipe, they slowdown the proofing process. Therefore, needs the extra time for the dough to rise taller.

After 20 minutes,

7. Invert the dough out of the bread pan and onto a floured work top. 

Press down the dough to release the trapped air. 

Wear a pair of disposable gloves to handle the rather sticky dough.

8. Divide the dough into 1/3 and 2/3. 

9. Set the 1/3 portion aside, and further divide the 2/3 portion of the dough into 9 pieces, about 41g each

10. Shape the doughs into 9 balls by pulling down the sides and seal at the base. Lightly coat the individual dough ball with flour and place in a covered plate. Let them rest for about 15 minutes, or till you finish preparing the cranberry balls later.

11. Take the 1/3 dough and knead in the ingredient D, the beetroot powder. 

12. Roll out the beetroot dough into a flat dough. Spread ingredient E, the cranberry bits, over the beetroot dough. Roll it up and divide into 9 portions. Shape into balls. 

Cover with a lid and let the beetroot dough rest for 5 minutes.

13. After the rest, roll out the milk dough balls from (10) and wrap a beetroot ball in each of them. Shape into balls and coat with a layer of flour. Place in the prepared baking mould. 

14. Spray a few pumps of water over the dough. Transfer to a closed and warm oven to proof for 35 to 40 minutes.

15. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.

16. Apply a coat of fresh milk over the dough evenly.

17. Baked at lower rack of the oven at 160 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 150 degree Celsius and continue to bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the top slightly brown.

End of baking. 

18. Unmould the bread by lifting up the parchment paper and onto a wire rack to cool down before serving. Enjoy 😄

For a twist - cheesy crust

1. Before baking, apply a thin coat of egg wash over the top.

2. Sprinkle shredded white cheddar cheese over.

3. Bake at 170 degree for about 20 minutes at lower rack of the oven.

4. After baking finish, apply golden syrup glaze over the hot crust. Mix 1/2 tsp of golden syrup with 1/4 tsp of hot water as the glaze.