Almond Crumb Green Tea Bun

As Christmas festive was drawing near, instead of baking panettone, I baked 8 green tea buns filled with sweetened red beans, and topped with almond crumbs. A combination of the favourite Christmas colours - red, green and white 🤶🎄

I dusted the buns with baked bread flour to give them a softer look 😊

Almond Crumb

Below quantity made 78g

Ingredients

8g almond powder

10g caster sugar

36g top flour

2g milk powder

20g salted butter, cold

Directions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

Add in cold butter and break it into smaller chunks.

2. Use your fingers to break and rub the mixture into small crumbs.

Keep the almond crumbs in the fridge till needed.

Green Tea Dough

Ingredients

200g bread flour

20g superfine wholegrain flour/plain flour

40g raw sugar

2g instant dry yeast

3g bakeable green tea powder #

50g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

30g yudane dough^

20g beaten egg

10g whipping cream

100g low-fat milk, cold 

25g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

2g low sodium salt

20g unsalted butter, softened

Toppings

egg wash

almond crumbs from above

some bread flour, optional

# "bakeable green tea powder" is able to keep the end product appears green after baking.

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stands for about 1 hour or more till double in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 30g yudane dough is prepared by combining 16g of bread flour with 16g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, and cool down before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

Filling

1 can Hokkaido sweetened red beans, about 160g after draining

Directions:

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread. After kneading the dough to window pane stage, 

2. After kneading the milk dough to window pane, shape the milk dough into a ball, and keep in a plastic bag coated with a little cooking oil. Keep the dough in the fridge for about 14 hours or overnight.

3. In the next day, remove the outer plastic bag, and let the dough thaw in room temperature for about 90 to 120 minutes.

4. Turn the dough onto a floured worktop. Deflate the dough, and divide into 8 portions.

Shape the cut dough into 8 balls. Cover and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Roll a dough ball into one flat dough.

Flip over the dough, and add about 15g of drained sweetened red beans at one end of the dough.

Roll up the dough, and seal at the end.

Roll and shape the shaped dough, face the seamed side down, and lightly press the shaped dough to flatten it a little.

6. Place the shaped dough over a non-stick baking tray. Let the dough proof in a cold oven for about 30 to 40 minutes.

End of proofing 👇

7. Start to preheat the oven to 180℃.

While waiting, brush beaten egg over the shaped dough.

Sprinkle a layer of cold almond crumbs over the top. Press the almond crumbs down slightly using the back of the spoon to secure them to the dough.

8. At middle rack of a preheated oven, bake at 180℃ for 10 minutes, reduce to 170℃ for 10 minutes, or till the top turns golden.

9. Let the buns cool down a while before serving. Enjoy 😋

I forgot to dust the shaped dough with bread flour before baking, so I dusted them with baked bread flour later 😉