For Mom: HK Style Coconut Bun with Tang Zhong and Sourdough

I feel like I should share a HK style bread recipe on this site as someone from HK so when my mom requested some coconut buns, I decided to make it immediately. This is a kind of very typical and popular enriched bread in HK and though I only crave it at very rare occasions, my mom adores it wholeheartedly. I modified the traditional recipe by nixing butter and decreasing sugar in the dough while adding sourdough and tang zhong for flavour and tenderness respectively. An egg is skipped in the filling and condensed milk replaced the sugar. 

For Mom: HK Style Coconut Bun with Tang Zhong and Sourdough 

For filling:

150g     43%      Desiccated coconut

150g     43%      Sweetened condensed milk

50g      14%       Melted butter or ghee

1/4 tsp     -         Vanilla extract

A pinch    -         Salt

A pinch    -         Turmeric (for colour since eggs are used traditionally)

For tang zhong:

20g       6%      Whole wheat flour

100g     29%    Water

10g       3%      Sugar

For dough:

350g    100%     Whole wheat flour

150g     43%      Water

50g       14%      Evaporated milk

30g        9%       Starter

10g      2.8%      Vital wheat gluten

5g        1.4%      Salt

<120g      -         All of the tang zhong

For glace:

15g       4%      Honey

15g       4%      Warm water

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370g     100%     Whole Grain

300g      86%     Total hydration (some water in the tang zhong is evaporated)

Combine all ingredients for the filling and adjust the consistency to a thick but spreadable paste by adding just enough water. Keep refrigerated until needed. Mix together the flour and water for the tang zhong and heat over medium-low, stirring continuously until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix thoroughly the starter and the tang zhong. Pour in the water and evaporated milk slowly while stirring at the same time. Combine roughly the flour, vital wheat gluten and salt for the dough with the wet mixture and let ferment overnight for 10 hours.

Stretch and fold the dough for a few times then let rest for 20 minutes. Flour the dough and stretch it lightly into a 30x30cm square. Dot the filling onto the dough, leaving some space on one edge then spread it evenly with a spoon. Roll the dough from one of the edges with filling to the edge with reserved space and pinch the edges together gently. Divide the dough into 4 equal cylinders and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet with the side with fillings exposed facing up. Flatten them slightly and let proof for 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine the honey and water for the glaze and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Bake at 400°F in the middle rack for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 190°F. Brush the honey mixture over the hot buns and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

The coconut, condensed milk and butter produce a wonderful aroma which makes this bread addictive and irresistible. As much as we want to cut down on the fats, you just cannot skimp on the butter as it is what gives this bread its signature flavour. This recipe is already a healthified version with very few compromises but any more reduction on the fats or sugar would yield an unpleasant result. The bread is very soft and moist which goes especially well with this somewhat chewy filling.

As this is a pretty heavy kind of bread, this to me is only a once-in-a-while treat but as for my mom…that might be a different story!