SOFT STUFFED BREAD

Playing with yeast is one of my favourite hobby.  So far I have tested so many recipes with both positive and negative results and I should say that I am still on a bread quest.  The recipe below is from artcakes's channel on You Tube with minor modifications.  It is a Soft Burger Bun recipe which I turned into a Soft Stuffed Bread.  I guarantee you that the recipe is fail-proof.  I will definitely make this bread again.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

550 g all purpose flour (sifted)

1 tablespoon salt 

1 tablespoon sugar

15 g instant yeast

2 g bread improver (The original recipe did not call for bread improver)

Wet ingredients:

38 g vegetable oil

25 g honey (She has used honey and corn syrup.  I used only honey since I didn't have corn syrup on hand)

1 large egg

335 g warm water

Method

1.  Mix the flour, salt, sugar and bread improver in a bowl.  Dissolve the yeast in 5 tablespoons of the warm water.  Whisk the wet ingredients with the remaining warm water.

2.  Pour the dissolved yeast and the liquid in the dry ingredients.  Mix with an electric mixer using the dough hook attachment.  I mixed the dough for about 10 minutes at medium speed.  The result should be a rather sticky  dough.

3.  Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough lightly by giving it a few folds till it doesn't stick on  your working surface.  Believe me, she had reasons when she said 'KNEAD LIGHTLY'. If you press the dough too hard while kneading, you will find the dough more sticky and you will have a tendency to add more flour.  So, watch out your kneading.  Soft breads usually have higher moisture content.  Adding too much flour while kneading might affect the texture of the finished product. 

4.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, oil the surface of the dough and cover with cling film.  Allow the dough to rise until it doubles in volume (This is called fermentation). The fermentation process is necessary for the development of flavour, texture and volume.  Normally after fermentation a dough becomes less sticky.  I left the dough for 2 hours at room temperature (30°C).  The dough is ready when air bubbles have formed on the surface of the dough. An easy way to determine if the dough has risen sufficiently is to simply press a lightly floured finger on the dough.  If the dough springs back quickly, it is an indication that the dough has not risen sufficiently, but if the indentation remains, the dough has properly risen.

5.  Remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface.  Portion the dough into balls of 90-95 g.  Flatten the balls into thick disks or rounds.  Place your favourite filling in the middle of each round and bring the edges together.  Pinch to seal and try to shape them as round as possible.  Place them on a greased and lined baking tray (leave spaces in between them).  Cover with cling film and allow to prove for 45 minutes.

I made rounds, knots and swirls

6.  After proving, brush with water, sprinkle with sesame seeds then brush with a mixture of egg and sugar.  Bake at  190°C for 20 minutes turning the tray halfway.

7.  After baking, cover them immediately with a clean towel.  Covering the bread after baking helps to keep the bread soft.  Uncover after about 15 minutes.

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For the filling, I have used cooked minced meat.  I prepared the filling by cooking all the ingredients below over low heat until dry.  Then I sprinkled it with grated cheese.  You can definitely use another filling.

Please visit  artcakes's channel on You Tube for the original recipe.  Her buns look wonderful.  My family and my friends have really liked the soft stuffed bread.