Red Bean Bread

Earlier today, I made some Red Bean Bread.  The past few days, we been eating clean with salads and such.  This was a nice treat.  This bread really isn't unhealthy.  After all it has red bean.  This is a great alternative to cupcakes and cookies.  You still get a little bit of sweetness; its a great compromise.  Plus it makes a great snack or you can have it for breakfast.

Typically, my recipe makes a loaf of bread. Sometimes though, I make 4 little buns and 1 loaf.  That just means, my loaf will be a little smaller since I took one of the sections to make 4 little buns.  If you just wanted buns, then this recipe will yield about 16 little buns. 

Personally, I think the loaf taste better because it has more texture.  I usually divide my dough into 4 parts, thus I will have 4 small sections loafs.  Great for portion control and easy to snack on.  However, you can also just make one section and fill it with red bean paste then roll it up like a jellyroll and you will have bigger swirls of red bean.

If you don't have a stand mixer, you can also use a food processor to get the dough to combine and then knead, and if you have neither, then there is always the old-fashion knead the dough by hand.  

Here's my recipe for Red Bean Bread, it's pretty much like my Hokkaido Milk Bread recipe but with a red bean filling.  

Red Bean Bread Recipe Print
(Makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:

2½ cups bread flour

4 tbsp sugar  

½ tsp salt

2 tsp active yeast (1/4 oz packet)

1 egg

½ cup milk, warm

½ cup tangzhong, room temp

3 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, room temperature)

¾ cup red bean paste

1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp of milk

1 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Tangzhong (water roux): make ½ cup of tangzhong

1/6 cup of bread flour

¼ cup milk

¼ cup water

Let’s make some bread!

1. First, make the tangzhong.  In a saucepan, whisk bread flour, milk and water well.   Heat over medium-low heat.  The mixture will thicken.  Stir consistently to prevent it from burning. Swirly lines will appear and when you have a pudding like consistency (ideally the temperature here is 149°F), take it off the heat.  You can transfer it into a small bowl.  Set aside and cool to room temperature.

2.  In your stand mixer bowl, combine bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Quickly mix using a dough hook, just to combine.  

3. Add warm milk, egg and tangzhong to the dry ingredients.

4. Knead on medium (6 on the stand mixer) for 5 minutes to let the gluten develop.

5. Decrease to speed to 4 and add in the butter while mixer is still kneading.  Continue to knead for an additional 10 minutes.

6. Once the dough is done kneading, form into a ball and place into a greased bowl.  Cover and let sit in a warm place for 40-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

7. Divide dough into four equal portions and form into the shape of a ball.  This will deflate the dough. Cover and let rest for another 15 minutes.

8. Prepare loaf pan by lightly greasing.  This will make it easier for your loaf to come out.  

9. Now it’s time to form the rolls!  Flour a nice clean working area. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an oval.  Then fold 1/3 from the top to the middle and 1/3 from the bottom to the middle.  Rotate 90 degrees; roll out with the rolling pin.  Spread 3 tbsp of the red bean paste.  And roll dough like a jellyroll.  Place the roll with seam side down into loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.

The lower left picture is where the filling would be added.

10. Let sit for another 30-60 minutes in a warm place, or until the dough doubles in size. 
11. Preheat oven to 350°F.

12. Brush loaf with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes on center rack.  Rotate halfway through and if the bread browns before it is done, loosely cover it with foil.

13. When done, place on a wire rack and brush the top with melted butter.  This will soften the crust and add some deliciousness.  After 5 minutes, remove from loaf pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Here are the little red bean buns. I put roughly 1 tbsp of the red bean paste and baked them for about 18-20 mins at 350 degrees. If you are planning to make buns, then use about 1 cup of red bean paste and fill with about 1-1/2 tbsp of the filing.