[RECIPE] Cheezy Cheddar Shokupan Buns

After making my first shokupan, I can't seem to stop making this fluffy white bread. It is very easy to make and has sparked my love of bread making. Before this bread, I never seemed to find a perfect bread recipe that just works every time.

If you haven't tried it yet, what makes shokupan particularly different from other milk bread recipes is the thang zhong method it uses, where basically a fraction of the water and flour used in the recipe, is made into a roux, and later gets incorporated into the dough. The result is (allegedly) bread that is softer longer.

Another thing I love about this recipe is how incredibly versatile it is! After making straight up regular white bread shokupan, I decided to experiment a little with some left over cheddar cheese I had. Instead of making it into one big loaf, I made small individual buns that is great for snacking or even lunch item. They are great as it is, but what makes it even better is the garlic butter mix that gets brushed on top of it, as well as some grated fresh parmesan and chopped parsley.

I kid you not, this will not last long out of the oven!

Cheezy Shokupan Buns 

Adapted from Dream of Dashi 

A. For the Thang Zhong 

3 tbsp / 20 grams All Purpose Flour

100 gram water (100 ml)

B. Dry Ingredients:

330 gram bread flour

2 tbsp / 24 grams sugar

2 tbsp / 14 grams dry milk

1 tsp / 7 grams

1 tsp instant yeast

C. Wet Ingredients:

95 grams (95 ml) lukewarm water

1 large egg

1.5 tbsp / 20 grams room temperature butter, divided into 3 small lumps

D. Cheese Filling

100 grams grated cheddar cheese

E. Topping

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped finely

2 tbsp of chopped parsley

a pinch of salt

grated parmesan

Method:

1. Make the thang zong: mix water and flour in a small sauce pan, heat over medium heat and keeps stirring until mixture thickens and the consistency resembles a cake batter.

2.  Mix all the dry ingredients (B) in your mixing bowl

3. Add all the wet ingredients (C) and thangzong mix (A) into the mixing bowl and start mixing with  your dough hook, start in low speed, and continue to medium speed for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the butter to the dough little by little. The dough will separate slightly at first, but will come together, mix for about 10 minutes.

5. Transfer your dough into a well-greased bowl, and let rise for about 1 hour in room temperature.

6. After your dough doubles in size, divide into 10 or 12 equal pieces, depending how big you want your buns to be, and roll them into balls.

(It's best to let them rest again for around 15-20 minutes, but if you're in a little bit of a rush, skipping this step won't hurt)

8. Fill each ball with some grated cheese, and then tuck it into a ball, and roll it gently with your palm.

9. Lay the buns onto a lined baking sheet, or if you prefer, you can also put them together into a cake or a loaf ban, which will make the bread into more like a monkey bread/pull apart bread. But I prefer to leave them be. 

10. As an added touch, I cut a little bit of opening on top so I can insert a little amount of cheese to melt nicely when heated, but this is completely optional. This is particularly great if you are baking several different kind of buns and want to make all of them look different.

10. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes, around this time you can start heating your oven to about 170 degree celcius (350F)

11. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

12. Brush the top with of the buns with the melted butter and garlic mixture, then sprinkle with chopped parsley and grated parmesan.

Enjoy!