Golden Custard Salted Egg Buns

Have you tried those flowy salted egg steamed buns in those Hong Kong dim sum eateries or restaurants? I love these buns and have always wanted to try making them but am afraid that my salted egg fillings would not be flowy like those I have ate.

After much procrastination, I tried making these yummy golden custard salted egg buns. I will use this same fillings for steamed buns next round because this filling were just right for our taste.  They are not exactly those flowy fillings you will get from restaurants, but aren't too bad and has a taste of the salted egg and slightly milky taste.

On the search for more flowy ones but will keep to this current filling recipe for now.

Golden Custard Salted Egg Buns

Salted egg yolk filling
3 salted egg yolk
55g caster sugar
25g custard powder 
35g evaporated milk
28g full cream milk powder
8g corn starch
50g butter at room temperature

Buns

Gelatinized dough
50g bread flour
35ml boiling water

1. Place flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Add hot boiling water and mix with wooden spoon to form a rough dough.
3. Cover bowl with cling film and leave dough to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 48 hours.


Basic sweet bread dough
(Yield roughly 480g dough. I divided them into 8 equal portions)

150g bread flour
50g plain flour
40g sugar
10g milk powder
4g instant yeast
1/4 tsp or 3g salt
87ml cold water
30g cold egg
30g butter, room temperature

Filling
1.        Steam salted egg for 10 minutes or until cooked. Crack salted egg and remove egg yolks for use. (I used remaining whites for lunch with porridge) Mash yolks with a fork.

2.        Cream the butter slightly and add in sugar and cream till sugar more or less melted. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate filling mixture until firm. Portion into 8 balls and freeze till solid. (Do this one day or a night before so that you can cut down on the freeze and wait part on the actual day of bun making.)

Buns
1. Tear gelatinized dough into smaller pieces into the bread machine. Add water, beaten egg and top with flour And milk powder. Place salt and sugar on opposite corners of bread machine, make a small deep hole in centre of flour and spoon in instant yeast. Gently cover yeast with some flour and set BM to work. I use Function 8 fory Kenwood BM250 for this step. 

2. When dough has come together and is more or less a smooth dough, add in softened butter. I restarted my BM on Function 8 again and let BM mix till well incorporated with dough and is smooth and soft. I then remove dough and hand knead till dough reaches window pane stage, where you get a thin translucent membrane when dough is stretched. (This more or less tells you that you will get soft and fluffy bread and buns!)

3. Shape dough into a ball, leave to proof for 40 min or until doubled. 

4. Punch down dough to rid excess air, then divide dough into 8 equal portions at 60g each and roll it round and set aside for 5 min to let it relax for easier rolling.
Roll out dough into a round shape. 

5. Roll in each ball of frozen salted egg yolk filling. Knead each little dough portions into ball shapes. 

6. Seal bottom of dough to secure salted egg custard fillings from spilling out. Set dough with sealed ends at bottom. 

7. Place dough onto greased baking tin. 

8. Cover with clean moist cloth and leave to proof for 40min or till doubled in size. 

9. Brush bun tops with whisked egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp water and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 180°C and bake for further 15 minutes or till slightly golden brown. Do not over-bake if not the filling will not flow or will burst like mine!  I saw bubbling lava flowing out from some buns while they were baking in my oven :(

Good thing the other 5 buns were intact!

15.        Cool on a wire rack before serving.