I saw the ads for Samsung Malaysia's mini-series, Wind Chimes in a Bakery before I left, but totally forgot all about it when I returned home. Well, until I saw Swee San's post the other night. But instead of reminding me to watch the series, I went to bake the red bean buns instead - which is probably much more important (haha). The smell of bread out of the oven is amazing and this is the reason why I try to bake bread at least once a week now.
I adapted the sweet tosca bread recipe from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook again since I got a delicious soft loaf from it last time. This time I made sure not to burn the top! Once I got the bread machine going, I tended to the pot of simmering red beans which is somewhat low maintenance. After the first prove, I divided the dough into 20 (un)equal pieces and scooped out the same quantity of red bean paste; 25 grams per bun. Shaping, wrapping, flattening and cutting the buns and into the oven at 28C for the second prove for 1 hour, whilst glazing with beaten egg 3 times at 20 minute intervals. With the last glaze, a sprinkle of black sesame seeds in the center before baking at 175C fan forced until golden brown all over. Yum.
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red bean paste makes approximately 800g
adapted from my old recipe which I adapted from Cooking Guide DS
250g red beans
150g raw sugar*
cold water, as required
Wash the red beans and soak in a bowl of cold water overnight. Drain beans and wash again.
Place beans in a small saucepan and top up with water. Bring to the boil and drain. Top up with more cold water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to medium and let it boil/simmer for approximately 15 minutes. If the scum disturbs you, skim it off. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 15 minutes. The water should be just below the top layer of beans. Add the sugar and stir. The water should just be covering the top layer of beans and should be thickened. Simmer for a few minutes more, stirring consistently to avoid burning.
Transfer mixture into a thermomix/food processor and process until smooth. Transfer into a bowl, allow to cool slightly and cling wrap, ensuring it touches the red bean paste to avoid it forming a dry layer. When completely cool, refrigerate or freeze for future use.
*Thinking it would be sufficient, I actually put 50g of sugar into the pot first. But after I processed it, it was lacking in flavour so I gradually added 100g more whilst it was still hot. The sugar amount, more or less is a personal taste. The original recipe uses a 1:1 ratio of beans and sugar.
