Strawberry iced finger buns

Soft, slightly sweet Asian-style milk bread buns are topped with a pretty pink icing made with real strawberries in this nostalgic recipe from Helen Goh.

Strawberry iced finger buns. Credit: Murdoch Books / Laura Edwards

• makes

  12

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Milk bread

• 150 ml full-cream milk
• 2 tsp active dried yeast
• 30 g caster sugar
• 375 g plain flour
• 75 ml water, boiling hot
• 15 g milk powder
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 egg
• 50 g unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm pieces, then left to soften
• vegetable oil, for greasing

Icing

• 60 g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
• 300 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 20 g liquid glucose (optional)

Rising time: about 2½ hours in total

Instructions

1. To make the bread, put the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Set aside to cool (see Note) to 38˚C – cool enough to touch – then whisk in the yeast and 2 tsp of the sugar. Let it stand to allow the yeast to activate and froth, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place 75 g of the flour in a small heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over and mix with a spoon to form a stiff, shaggy paste (see Note). Cover the bowl and set aside to cool.
3. Put the remaining 300 g of flour, the milk powder, salt and remaining 20 g of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and stir with a whisk to combine. Add the flour and water paste, the yeast/milk mixture and the egg and mix with the dough hook on a low speed for about 2 minutes, until a scraggly dough forms.
4. Add the butter, a little at a time, until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and knead for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead gently for a couple of minutes, then shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, around 1–2 hours, depending on the temperature of the room.
5. Meanwhile, prepare a baking tin (approximately 35 × 25 cm inches measured across the base) by lining it with baking paper.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, knock it down with your fist and turn it out onto a clean work surface. Cut it into 12 equal pieces, roughly 60 g each. Taking one piece at a time, press the dough into a rough square approximately 10 cm. Starting from the side closest to you, roll up into a small log, pinching and smoothing the ends and seam to seal, creating a little sausage. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, and place them 2 cm apart on the lined baking tray.
7. Cover the tray loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until doubled in size.
8. When the buns are well risen, preheat the oven to 170˚C fan-forced (190˚C for conventional).
9. Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
10. To make the icing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz together until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the cooled buns. Allow the icing to set before eating.

Notes

• Asking you to boil the milk and then let it cool might seem a bit crazy, but there’s method in the madness. The process of boiling the milk breaks down the proteins and results in a softer, more tender bread. It also makes the milk more effective in hydrating the flour, improving the texture of the dough. But make sure to cool the milk before mixing in the yeast – that’s essential to get the rise.
• The method of mixing flour with boiling water is an Asian bread-making technique used to create soft, fluffy bread. It involves pre-cooking a portion of the flour and water to gelatinise the starches, which helps to retain moisture in the bread.

Image and recipe from Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh, photography by Laura Edwards (Murdoch Books RRP $55.00).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.