caterpillars: milk bread buns with fruit filling

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.

scallion pancakes with chili-ginger sauce

Crunchy, crispy, and savory, oh my! A dimsum staple, these scallion pancakes are adapted from a recipe in Kristina Cho‘s James Beard Award-winning cookbook Mooncakes and Milk Bread (2021). The chili-ginger sauce–tart, spicy, and sharp–was riffed from a Bon Appetit recipe for scallion pancakes. I like Kristina’s recipe because of her tips and tricks to make these pancakes. For instance, she recommends using an oiled wooden board to roll out the pancakes. This gives the pancakes traction to grip the board so rolling is easier. She highly recommends resting the dough before rolling and frying. And oiling the pin should be another recommendation! Simply delicious.

Scallion Pancakes with Chili-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Yield: 6 6-inch pancakes

Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes (includes 3 hour resting time)

300g all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

170g warm water (105˚F-115˚)

2-4 tablespoons canola oil, plus extra for brushing

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

4-6 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped (I made up the difference with cilantro)

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and warm water. Using a pair of chopsticks or a silicone spatula, mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead with your hands, 6-8 minutes, until your hands, the sides, and the bottom of the bowl are clean. The dough should be smooth, soft, and elastic.

Remove the dough from the bowl and lightly oil it. Return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat, then cover the bowl with a damp lint-free cloth. Let sit 30 minutes or up to 8 hours at room temperature. I let the dough sit, covered, 3 hours. The long resting time results in a flakier crunchy crust. During this time the dough will not rise.

Weigh and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces by weight. Lightly brush a large wooden cutting board with canola oil. Also lightly oil the rolling pin. Take a piece of dough and gently stretch it into a small rectangle. Roll it out into a bigger 6×10 inch rectangle. Brush the top with the sesame oil and sprinkle the scallion mixture on top. Roll up from one long side into a rope, pressing out any air. Starting from one end, coil the rope then tuck the opposite end underneath. Place the coil on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat until all the dough portions are rolled, filled, and coiled. Cover the coils with a damp cloth and let them all rest 15 minutes. This last rest is essential for the final roll, as the coil will not shrink back on itself when it is rolled.

Take one coil and gently flatten. Roll into a 6-inch round. If needed, brush more oil on the board and the pin. Place the round on the baking tray and proceed with another round. Don’t stack the rounds unless there is a sheet of parchment between them.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch skillet. When the oil is shimmering, fry the pancakes one at a time, 1-2 minutes per side or until a deep golden brown. When the first pancake is done, remove it from the pan and place it on a wire cooling rack set over another baking sheet to drain. Proceed until all the pancakes are cooked. Pancakes are best eaten as soon as they are fried. If you prefer not to do them all, freeze the extra coils separately. Stack, wrapped in plastic and placed in a zipper lock bag. Thaw pancakes in the refrigerator before rolling and frying. Serve with chile-ginger sauce (recipe below). Slice each round into 4-8 wedges. Serve at once.

Chile-Ginger Sauce (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1/2-inch knob of fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Scrape ginger root with a spoon to remove the peel. Slice into rounds, then slice each round into fine matchsticks. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.

whole wheat flower buns

I found another use for the whole wheat flour I brought back from Calgary, these steamed whole wheat flower buns. A recipe from Mooncakes and Milk Bread (Kristina Cho, 2021) these buns aren’t 100% but only 33% whole wheat so they are soft and chewy like white flower/flour buns and with the nutty taste of whole wheat. I was in a hurry because dinner was late so I made them plain, without the garlic-chive filling. And because whole wheat flour is hygroscopic, I added an extra teaspoon of water to the dough.

Whole Wheat Flower Buns (adapted from Kristina Cho)

Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, including two rises

Yield: 8-12 buns

225g all-purpose flour

75g whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

160g warm water (105˚F-110˚F) plus 1-2 teaspoons

1 teaspoon canola oil for greasing the bowl

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flours, sugar, yeast, baking powder, and salt on low speed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in 160g water. Mix until all dry ingredients are moistened. Then increase speed to medium high (Level 4 on KitchenAid), and knead until the dough is smooth and cohesive, 8-10 minutes. If the dough separates, add 1 teaspoon water and continue mixing for another minute until the dough comes together in a ball and cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. If it does not, add another teaspoon of water. Mix for another minute after the addition of water.

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. Pinch and pull the dough into a ball. Grease the inside of the bowl with the canola oil. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl, turning to coat. Be sure the seam side is down. Cover with a damp lint free cloth and let rise until puffy, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll flat into a 10×16-inch rectangle. If the dough shrinks back, cover with the damp cloth and let rest 15 minutes. Prepare 8-12 parchment squares. I use flattened paper cupcake liners.

To make plain flower buns

Cut the dough in half vertically. Then cut into 8-12 strips about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Stack two strips one on top of the other. Using a chopstick, press the two strips together lengthwise. Pick up both ends in your fingers and gently stretch them together, twisting with one hand while holding securely to the other end. Wind the spiral around the two fingers then pinch the ends together. Place the bun on a parchment square or flattened cupcake liner. Repeat.

While you are making the buns, boil 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of a steamer pot. Once the water boils, reduce to a vigorous simmer. Place 4-5 buns in the rack and place on top of the simmering water. Cover. The bottom of the rack shouldn’t touch the water. If using a metal steamer, cover the lid with a towel so that condensation will not drip on the buns while they are steaming. Steam buns in 2-3 batches.

To make garlic-chive filling

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I prefer canola oil)

8-10 large cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh chopped chives

Salt

**Do not cut the dough into strips** Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the garlic, cook, stirring, until light golden brown and crisp, 4-5 minutes. Strain and retain the oil separate from the garlic.

Brush the 10×16-inch dough rectangle with the garlic oil. Sprinkle fried garlic and chopped chives on top then sprinkle with salt. Fold dough into thirds, overlapping the sides. Flatten and roll out the dough again into a 10×16 inch rectangle. If it shrinks back, let dough rest, covered with damp cloth, 15 minutes. Slice into strips as directed above, and twist into flower shapes.

Steam buns 10 minutes then rest 5 minutes in the steamer without removing the lid. Remove steamed buns from the steamer and serve immediately. Let the water come to a boil again before steaming another batch. Buns are best served hot or warm. Store extra buns in a zipper lock bag in the refrigerator. To reheat, wrap a bun in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 10-15 seconds or just long enough to warm them. If they are microwaved for too long the buns will become tough.

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