mdm wai’s gai mei bao (cocktail bun) 人气煮食blogger韋太的松软鸡尾包

hubby and i just got off the plane in the afternoon and heading home, but he was immediately taking off again the next morning… so i was in desperation to make bread for his afternoon tea and breakfast (･_-｡ ) i wanted to make cocktail bun (gai mei bao) but had no time to make the water-roux method dough (please click here for the tangzhong gai mei bao)… and so, i remembered i have bookmarked a direct method gai mei bao by irene chan-wai, a very famous blogger in the baking blogosphere.. (=^-ω-^=)

Recipe adapted and translated from 苹果日报 

Ingredients (makes 8 buns)

Dough
250g high protein flour
15g unsalted butter (or solidified vegetable oil)
8g milk powder
2g fine salt
135ml warm water
30g granulated sugar
25g egg
4g instant dry yeast

white sesame seeds/egg wash

Filling
70g chilled butter, chopped into small cubes
20g flour
20g milk powder
20g sugar
10g desiccated coconut

Mexican topping (for piping the lines)
80g softened butter
30g flour
25g granulated sugar

高筋麪粉250克
無鹽牛油（或固體菜油）15克
奶粉8克
幼鹽2克
溫水135毫升
砂糖30克
雞蛋25克
即用依士4克

芝麻/蛋漿少許

雞尾包餡料
硬身牛油70克
麪粉20克
奶粉20克
糖20克
椰絲10克

雞尾包面線（即墨西哥包餡）
軟牛油80克
麪粉30克
砂糖25克

Directions

– prepare filling by mixing butter, flour, milk powder, sugar and desiccated coconut. mix gently till everything is well incorporated and set aside. at this point, you can divide it into 8 portions
先做雞尾包餡料，將牛油切細粒，與麪粉、奶粉、糖及椰絲放入盆內，慢慢搓勻成餡料備用

– make mexican topping by beating butter with sugar till fluffy. then mix in flour well and set aside till ready to use
做面線要將牛油及糖用手動打蛋器打起，再加入麪粉拌勻，備用

– prepare dough ~ place flour into mixer bowl, and then add in milk powder, sugar, salt, yeast, egg and butter (ensuring that salt and yeast are not placed together). once bubbles appear on water surface, this means that the yeast has been activated and is releasing carbon dioxide; hence leading to proofing of dough
將高筋麪粉放入鋼盆內，然後將奶粉、砂糖、幼鹽、即用依士、雞蛋、溫水及無鹽牛油（或固體菜油）一起加入，鹽不能與依士放在同一位置，以免影響依士的活躍能力。待水表面出現泡泡狀，即代表依士已開始活躍，噴出二氧化碳，可以令到麪糰發酵

– mix dough batter together with hands quickly and turn it out to knead on table surface for about 15 mins (or till gluten develops) or till you get a smooth and elastic dough
用手將麪糰快速拌勻後，可取出用手心搓揉約15分鐘，至麪糰產生筋性，即麪糰表面光滑及有彈性

– shape dough into a round dough, and place it in a bowl. spray surface of dough with some water and allow to proof for 40-45 mins or till dough is 2-3x the size of original dough
將麪糰搓圓至表面光滑，放入盆內，麪糰表面噴一層水，蓋上保鮮紙，發酵40至45分鐘至原來麪糰的2至3倍

– to test if proofing process has completed, poke your finger (floured with flour) into the middle of the dough. if the hole does not shrink back, this means the first proofing is completed. however it the hole shrinks back, then continue to proof for 5-15 mins or till dough is ready
將麪糰取出，要預先測試麪糰是否已完成發酵，用沾滿高筋麪粉的手指插入麪糰中央，若麪糰發酵適當，指孔不會收縮，即表示第一次發酵完成。相反，若指孔迅速收縮或回彈，即發酵未完成，要繼續發酵5至15分鐘或檢查程序有無出錯

– gently punch dough down and fold the sides of the dough to form a rectangle. divide dough into 8 equal portions and shape into balls. rest for 15-20 mins
發酵完成後，將麪糰取出及用手輕輕將麪糰按扁排氣。將麪糰四邊收入再摺成長條形，然後將麪糰平均分割成所需等份，再將麪糰按所做的麪包形狀搓圓或拍摺成長形，放在桌上用保鮮紙及濕布蓋好，鬆弛麪糰15至20分鐘

– after dough has rested, lightly punch dough down and wrap filling into dough. shape and seal seams well
麪糰鬆弛後，將麪糰再次按扁排氣，然後包上餡料

– place buns onto baking sheet, spraying it with some water. cover with cling wrap to proceed with final proofing for 30-45 mins, or till 2-3x the size of the original bun
將麪糰放在焗盆上，表面噴一層清水，蓋上保鮮紙進行最後發酵，發酵至麪糰發大2至3倍，約30至45分鐘

– after proofing, brush buns with egg wash, and pipe 2 lines of mexican topping on each side of the bun. sprinkle sesame seeds on the buns and bake in preheated oven of 180 degrees C for 15 mins
發酵完成後，在麪包面掃上蛋漿，唧上兩條雞尾包面線，然後灑上少許芝麻，放入已預熱180℃的焗爐焗15分鐘即成

Personal notes:

– i used organic coconut butter for the entire recipe, but had to use 116.4g of coconut butter for the filling so that it will not be too dry (if i used only 70g, the filling was too dry to come together)
– trehalose was used instead of granulated sugar for the dough
– tip: the easiest way (i realised) to sprinkle sesame seeds in a straight line is to press your finger on the sesame seeds, then transfer and press it onto the bun. this creates a less messy line
– my buns were baked for 18 mins as i placed each bun close to the other in order to achieve a pull-apart effect

Verdict? it was still marvellously soft the next day… of course, i cling wrapped it twice so it didn’t dry up overnight （〜^∇^)〜

Pollution index: 4 (Hong Kong)