Custard Cheese Bun (SSL)

Golden cheese topped milk bun sprinkled with fine sugar, and wrapped with delicious milk-rich custard filling 😋😋

Yield: 12 long buns

Raw dough weight: 595g

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 200℃, middle rack, bake at 200℃ for 10 minutes, reduce to 180℃ for 10 minutes, or till golden.

Sweet Stiff Levain SSL (120 ~ 125g)

Ingredients

30g water

13g raw sugar

20~22g natural yeast, 100% hydration

60g superior bread flour/bread flour

- Add water, raw sugar and natural yeast in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.

- Add in the bread flour, and stir in one direction till it is pulled to form a dough.

- Store the sweet stiff levain in a tall container for about 6 hours, or till it triples in size.

Ready to use 😍

Milk Bread Dough

Ingredients

A.

200g superior bread flour/bread flour

30g superfine wholegrain flour/plain flour

30g raw sugar/fine sugar

1g instant dry yeast

B

120~125g sweet stiff levain from above

C

110g low fat milk, cold

20g whipping cream

20g beaten egg

35g cold water, to be added as necessary

D

3g low-sodium salt

E

20g unsalted butter

Custard Filling

50g super instant custard powder *

40g whipping cream

120g low fat milk

* Super instant custard powder unlike ordinary custard powder. The former does not need to be heated to thicken.

Egg wash

Some beaten egg as egg wash before baking

Toppings

100g cheddar cheese, grated

2 tsp fine sugar, to be added after baking

Directions

Knead dough into window pane using your preferred method

1. Mix all ingredient A in a big mixing bowl.

2. Add ingredient B into the mixing bowl. Use your fingers to pull the SSL into small pieces.

3. Gradually add in Ingredient C, mix in one direction, till the dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl, and forms into a ball. Cover and let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

4. Use a hand mixer fitted with a pair of dough hooks, and knead the dough till smoother. Add in Ingredient D,

 followed by Ingredient E. Knead the dough till smoother.

Performance about 200 sets of "slapping and folding" till reaching window pane.

5. Shape the dough into a ball and keep it in a plastic bag coated with a thin layer of oil. Tie a loose knot, keep in a second plastic bag, and put in a covered bowl. Store in the fridge to undergo cold fermentation for about 14 to 16 hours, or overnight.

6. Remove the outer plastic bag, invert the dough and let it thaw at room temperature for about 60 to 90 minutes

7. While thawing the bread dough, mix the three ingredients under the Custard Filling into a smooth paste. Let the custard filling rest for about 15 minutes before use. Set it aside.

8. Turn the dough onto a floured worktop, deflate the dough, and divide into 12 portions. Roll each dough into a ball. Cover with a cloth and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

9. Flatten the dough to a thickness of about 1cm. Scoop about 16g of custard into the center of the flattened dough. 

Wrap up the dough, 

and shape it into a ball.

10. Arrange the shaped dough over a non-stick baking pan. Spray some mist over, and let the shaped dough proof in a cold oven for about 40 minutes.

11. Remove the proofed dough from the oven. And start to preheat the oven to 200℃ for about 10 minutes. 

Brush some beaten egg over the entire face of the shaped dough.

12. Sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese over the top of each shaped dough.

13. Bake in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 200℃ for about 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 180℃ and bake for 10 minutes or till the buns turn golden.

You may have to observe the colour of the buns to determine the duration of each baking temperature setting. The goal is to achieve a golden hue to the crust.

14. Remove the tray of buns from the oven, sprinkle some fine sugar on top of the hot buns. Let them cool down a while before serving. 

Store unconsumed cheese buns in fridge, and warm up before serving.