
Here's the last instalment of the bread series (for now)! I used some of my previous batch of TangZhong dough to turn them into pork floss buns. I think it was BreadTalk who first came up with this bun and it was an instant hit. Many bakeries also came up with their own version of this bun within a span of few months. However I have not eaten them for a long time because the prices kept increasing. But because I was never good at making bread, I've never thought of recreating them at home, until now!
P.S. This is a scheduled post as I'm currently away on holiday in Eastern Europe!
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For those who never seen or heard of pork floss buns before, it's actually a combination of a soft and fluffy bun, with a creamy and sweetened mayo filling and topped with savoury pork floss. Pork floss is a dried meat product popular in Asia. It is made by stewing pork pieces in a braising sauce until the pork is soft enough to pull into pieces with a fork (somewhat like pulled pork). The meat is then strained and dry-cooked in a large wok until it is dry. I've seen recipes of pork floss online but I'm not sure if I will be making them anytime soon... it's really quite tedious!
Pork floss is incredibly versatile - it is used as a topping for congee, tofu, pineapple fried rice or used as a filling in buns or it can be a snack on its own! Pork floss usually comes in 2 forms, soft and crispy. The soft one is actually more suitable for making these pork floss buns but I only brought back the crispy one with me so I had to make do.
To learn how to make the TangZhong bread dough, check out the video in my Mini Sausage Bread Rolls recipe. Below are some step-by-step photos of the assembly of these delicious pork floss buns! (Trying out a new way of presenting the photos, let me know if you prefer this or the old table version!)
Click to see the full-size step-by-step photos in a slideshow!
- 25 grams bread flour
- 125 grams water/milk
- 80 to 125 grams milk, scalded and cooled (See Naggy 1&2)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 120 grams TangZhong
- 350 grams bread flour
- 55 grams caster sugar
- 7 grams milk powder
- 5 grams salt
- 6 grams instant yeast
- 30 grams unsalted butter, chopped and softened at room temperature
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- Combine bread flour and water/milk in a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it has a pudding-like consistency.
- Remove from heat and let cool completely before using.
- Butter or oil a large mixing bowl, set aside.
- Place milk, egg, TangZhong, bread flour, caster sugar, milk powder and salt in another clean and dry mixing bowl. Fit the mixer with a dough hook and run on low (Speed 1 on Kenwood Chef Sense) until a loose dough is formed. Add in the yeast and knead until a dough is formed, scrapping down the sides if necessary.
- Add in the unsalted butter and knead for 15 minutes until the dough is soft and no longer sticky.
- Lightly dust the table top with bread flour. Transfer the dough onto the floured table top and knead by hand for another 5 minutes, dusting with more flour if needed (but not too much). Pinch a piece of dough a test if it's ready - the dough is ready when it can be stretched into a thin membrane and a hole poked in the center is smooth and not an irregular tear-off.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in the buttered/oiled mixing bowl. Cover with clingwrap and set aside in a warm and draft-free area to rise for 1 to 2 hours, until double in size. (See Naggy 3)
- Lightly dust the table top with bread flour again. Turn the dough out again onto the floured table top and knead for 2 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 80-gram balls (you will get about 8 to 9 balls) and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Flatten slightly and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 180C / 355F (not fan-assisted).
- Brush the top with milk (you can use egg or cream).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden-brown. Remove the buns from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool before using.
2) Scalding the milk: Heat the milk to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent a skin from forming on the top, then let cool until it's warm or at room temperature before using. Some milk has a type of protein which inhibits yeast rise. Hence it's best to heat the milk to denature (sort of kill) the protein before using.
3) Overnight: You can let the dough proof overnight in the refrigerator. Just wrap the bowl with a clingwrap and stash it in the refrigerator.
4) The bread is best on the day it's made, but you can bake the bread up to a day in advance before using.
- 8 to 9 Basic Sweet Bread Buns
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 3 to 4 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup soft pork floss
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- Whisk mayonnaise and honey together in a shallow bowl. Stir pork floss and sesame seeds together in a separate shallow bowl.
- Once the bread has cooled completely, cut each bread lengthwise with a bread knife but don't cut all the way through. Fill it with a little honey-mayo, then spread the top of the bread with more honey-mayo.
- Dip the top of the bread into the pork floss, pressing gently so that the pork floss adhere to the bread.
- Serve the bread immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let the cold bread come to room temperature before serving.
Raymund says
Wow that pork floss looks so appetizing, reminds me of the buns I used to buy regularly when I was in Hong Kong
ChgoJohn says
I doubt I'd ever prepare these buns, Jasline, but I sure would like to try one. I'm going to Chinatown this weekend and maybe, if I'm lucky, I can find a place that features breads and sweets. Wouldn't that be something, eh?
Monica says
Seriously, these are amazing! What a great job!!