Bolo Bao

Pineapple buns (菠蘿包, bolo bao in Cantonese) are one of my favourite pastries. you can find  Pineapple buns in Hong Kong style bakeries. The bun is soft and sweet and it’s topped with a golden crunchy, crumbly cookie-like crust. Although named "pineapple buns" the pastry does not contain any pineapple, the name comes from the way that the topping looks when it’s baked.

Ingredients: 

For the dough:

Strong bread flour 400g

Sugar 60g

Salt 5g

Instant yeast 6g

Lukewarm milk 170g

1egg

Cooking oil 70g

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For the topping:

Unsalted butter 70g

Sugar 70g

Salt ¼ tsp

2 egg yolks

self-raising flour 110g

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(cup measurements are approximate)

For the dough:

Strong bread flour 3 cups 

Sugar  ¼ cup

Salt 1 tsp

Instant yeast 2 tsp

Lukewarm milk ¾ cup

1egg

Cooking oil ⅓ cup

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For the topping:

Unsalted butter 6 tbsp

Sugar 6 tbsp

Salt ¼ tsp

2 egg yolks

self-raising flour ¾ cup

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Method: Follow the video please

Important notes:
*make sure your yeast is good quality, raises perfectly, not half dead.

1. If your dough feels too wet to handle after kneading you can add 2-3 tbsp flour as needed but don't use too much otherwise the bread will become dense. Oil your hand if it sticks. The dough supposed to be very soft.
2. scale measurement is more accurate. cup measurement could be a little different for various reasons. But if you measure by cups flour and water ratio may not be exact sometimes. in that case, you can add some flour if the dough is too wet to handle. (make a soft dough possible.)
The proper kneading and folding are essential for the chewy texture of the bread.
3. dough will be sticky and soft at the beginning. A soft dough makes soft bread. After 15 mins of kneading, it will not stick to your hand anymore.
4. Different Ovens has different temperature settings. If you find the colour of the bread going dark before time, place an aluminium foil on top of the bread soon after you get your desired colour.
5. use a  minimum amount of flour dusting possible. dusting can make a hard texture. you can also use oil instead of flour to prevent sticking.
6. I recommend bread flour. if you can't find it you can use plain all-purpose flour but knead longer. but the chewiness may not be the same.
7. I use instant yeast. The milk temperature should be like body temperature if you dip your finger in the water for 30 sec and you don't feel uncomfortable or irritation but you feel the warmth that is perfect. yeast dies in hot water. I sometimes even use room temperature water which also works fine. If you have Thermometer it should be between 35°c to 40°C.
8. It's good to have a warm place for proofing bread dough, in winter dough will not rise on the countertop. I turn the oven on for a few seconds then turn off and put the tray in, I feel the temperature inside the oven by putting my hand in to make sure it's warm, not hot. I do it every 15 mins to keep the dough warm. normally it takes between 30mins to 1hour to rise. Or you can just turn the oven light on if you have the option.
9. you can start baking in the cold oven if you slightly under proof but preheat the oven if you proof the dough fully.

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