Languishing in my freezer were apple pie filling from Thanksgiving and strawberry-guava jam leftover from a pithivier experiment. I decided to give them another chance to be part of something delicious. Using Kristina Cho’s recipe for milk bread I made these buns using the score-and-roll method she describes in Mooncakes and Milk Bread. Rolled up, they do resemble caterpillars or some kind of grub! The ones oozing strawberry-guava jam were comically gruesome. But they are simple to make and are actually quite delicious with my morning cup of tea.
Caterpillars (adapted from Mooncakes and Milk Bread)
Yield: 12 buns
For the Tangzhong
100g milk
29g bread flour
For the Dough
335g bread flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
50g sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
125g milk
1 large egg
55g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
1 teaspoon canola oil, for oiling the bowl plus more for your hands
1/4 cup of fruit filling or jam of your choice, if the filling is chunky, process until smooth
Demerara or sanding sugar for sprinkling
For egg wash
1 egg white, yolk, or whole egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk, cream, or water
Make the tangzhong. In a small saucepan, add the milk and flour. Whisk to combine. Heat over medium-low while stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. When you can see the trails of the whisk in the flour mixture, remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
Make the milk bread dough. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough nook, combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Stop the machine. Add the egg to the milk in a measuring cup. Pour all at once in the flour mixture. Add the cooled tangzhong. Turn the machine on low, level 1-2, mixing until all ingredients are moistened. Add the butter one piece at a time, mixing until each one is incorporated before adding another piece. Increase speed to medium, Level 4-5, kneading 8-9 minutes until the dough clears the sides and bottom of the bowl, and becomes smooth, soft, and elastic.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape the dough into a ball, pulling the edges towards the center. Lightly oil the bowl and your hands. Drop the dough into the oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a damp lint-free cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours. Check progress after 40 minutes and adjust time. Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment. Heat oven to 350˚F/175˚C.
Shape the buns. Turn out the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times and shape into a ball. Weigh. Divide the ball into 12 portions by weight, about 60-61g each. Roll each ball into a 3×5 inch oval. Using a sharp paring knife, make 5-7 vertical slits, 1/4-inch apart, in the top half of the oval, starting about 1/8-inch from the top edge. Dab a spoonful of filling or jam on the uncut bottom half of the oval and spread it around, avoiding the edges. Roll up from the bottom edge towards the slits in the top half. No need to tuck in the ends or seal the seam. Place seam side down on the prepared sheet 3 inches apart from each other, 6 buns per baking sheet. Cover with damp cloth and let rise until puffy but not quite doubled, 45-60 minutes.
Bake the buns. Brush the tops of the risen buns with egg wash. Sprinkle over demerara or sanding sugar. Bake 18-22 minutes until golden brown. If you bake the buns one sheet pan at a time, put the second one in the refrigerator, covered with a damp cloth, to slow down the rise of the buns until you are ready to bake them. Let the baked buns cool in the pan 5 minutes then turn out onto wire cooling racks to cool thoroughly.