The quarantine life has left me with a lot of time to discover new hobbies and to reignite old interests. One of my childhood dreams was to open a bakery or a cafe and I decided to make the most use of this “free” time by baking and cooking more. Growing up, one of my favourite treats from the bakery was Bolo Bao (菠蘿包) aka Pineapple Bun. Contrary to it’s name, this bun doesn’t actually contain pineapples. The name is a nod to its exterior which resembles a pineapple. I had some leftover Kabocha filling so I decided to add the filling to the bao to create a little extra special treat.
Yeast is in short supply these days in Vancouver, but several local bakeries are selling it online (such as Beaucoup Bakery and Livia Sweets). Beaucoup Bakery is available on UberEats so check out my code for $5 off your first order (eats-cecic463ui).
Pineapple Bun with Kabocha Filling (Bolo Bao) Recipe
Ingredients:
For Bun Topping:
30g butter
1 teaspoon whole milk
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
70g sugar
75g all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
For Bread:
180g all-purpose flour
20g sugar
2g salt
4g dry active yeast
110ml warm milk
30g unsalted butter
For Kabocha filling:
50g mashed Kabocha
50g mashed purple sweet potato
30g sugar
Directions:
For bun topping:
1. Melt butter in the microwave (approximately 30 seconds). Once the melted butter is slightly cooled, add the milk, egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar. Mix with a spatula until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into this bowl.
3. Mix until a dough forms. The dough will be crumbly, but do your best to press it together. Shape the dough into a thick log.
4. Wrap the dough with a piece of plastic wrap. Shape it into a cylindrical log about 2” (5 cm) in diameter. Place in fridge until ready to use. Check my video instructions here.
For Kabocha filling:
1. Peel the kabocha and sweet potato. Cook the peeled kabocha and sweet potato and mash them.
2. In a small saucepan, put mashed kabocha pumpkin and sweet potato and add sugar. Stir constantly on low heat for about 5 minutes to ensure the sugar doesn’t burn.
3. When the paste has thickened, turn off the heat and let the paste cool down completely. Portion into small balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and set aside.
For bread:
1. In a large bowl make wells in your flour for the sugar, yeast and salt. Add dry ingredients and combine.
2. Pour warm milk into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
3. Knead the dough until it is soft (about 10 minutes).
4. Open up the dough and add the softened butter. Knead for another 8-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and soft.
5. Place dough into a bowl and cover with a plastic wrap and dish cloth and place in a warm place for one hour.
6. After one hour, the dough should have doubled in size. Punch down and place on a counter top. Divide the dough into 6 sections and shape into balls.
7. Place balls on a tray and cover with a dish cloth for 40 minutes. While the dough is fermenting prepare your topping.
8. Cut the cookie log into 6 pieces. And roll into a thin disc (1/4 inch thick). I find that it’s easier to just press it out with my hands and then cut out a circle with a circle cookie cutter. Set aside.
9. After 40 minutes flatten your bread dough ball and place kabocha filling in the center. Close up the bread at the bottom and place the sealed end on the tray. Top with cookie crust. Check out my video here.
10. Brush the top of the buns with an egg yolk.
11. Bake for 18 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The tops should be golden brown when it’s ready.
As you can see my crust didn’t crack properly and I think it’s because I was a little generous with the egg wash which caused the top of my buns to get extra toasty. Nonetheless, these buns were fluffy and soft and was a perfect mid-afternoon treat.