Pineapple Buns Food

PINEAPPLE BUNS

Steps:

• Start by making the bread dough. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to "stir." Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.
• After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.
• After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a circular bun, and place on a baking sheet. Cover the buns with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.
• While that's happening, make the topping. Add the dry milk powder to a mixing bowl. If your dry milk powder has some larger clumps, crush them up with your fingers so it's uniformly powdery.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and superfine sugar. Stir to combine. Add the shortening, milk, egg yolk, and vanilla. Use your hands to mix everything together into a dough. If it's too dry, add a little more milk a teaspoon at a time until it comes together. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
• When the buns are done rising for a second time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Separate the topping dough into 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls. On a clean surface, roll out each ball into a flat circle and place one onto each bun.
• Brush with egg yolk and bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes.

PINEAPPLE BUNS (BO LO BAO)

Steps:

• Start the bread dough: Whisk the 2 tablespoons (18 g) bread flour with 1/2 cup cold water in a medium saucepan until no lumps remain. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until thickened and opaque, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a stand mixer bowl and let cool slightly. Add the milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and whisk by hand until smooth and the mixture reaches 100 to 110 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the yeast just until combined. Let sit until foamy on the surface, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, grease a large bowl with 1/2 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
• Top the yeast mixture with the following ingredients in this order: the egg, milk powder, remaining 2 cups (240 g) bread flour, the cake flour, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and the salt. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test, about 10 minutes (see Cook's Note); scrape down the bowl halfway through. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter on medium-low speed until absorbed. Repeat, adding 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is smooth, about 6 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and form into a tight ball by pulling the edges of the dough toward the center. Toss in the prepared bowl to coat with butter, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
• Start the topping: Cream the butter with the sugar in the stand mixer (no need to wash the bowl first) fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and thoroughly combined but not fluffy, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the egg yolk, milk powder and vanilla until combined. Sift in the flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low speed until no dry spots remain. Transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap or a reusable plastic bag and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap the dough and chill in the freezer until ready to use.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Finish the bread dough: Knead the bread dough in the bowl until it becomes a tight ball. Divide into 8 equal pieces, each about 80 grams. Flatten 1 piece into a 3-inch disk and gather all the edges to meet at the center. Flip over and roll into a ball on a work surface, cupping the top of the dough with one hand, until the ball is completely smooth. Repeat with the remaining pieces and place 4 balls on each prepared baking sheet. Cover each baking sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap greased with nonstick cooking spray. Let proof near a warm area until each ball puffs to about 4 inches, about 1 hour.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Finish the topping: Meanwhile, divide the cookie dough disk into 8 portions, each about 32 g, and roll each portion into a ball. Place 4 of the balls on a large sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Gently flatten each ball into a 2-inch disk, then roll with a rolling pin between the sheets of plastic wrap until each is a 4-inch round - it doesn't have to be a perfect round. Stack the rounds on a plate, using the plastic wrap to separate each one. Refrigerate until ready to use. Repeat the rolling and stacking process with the remaining cookie dough and 2 more sheets of plastic. Refrigerate on top of the first batch of rounds until the buns are proofed.
• For the egg wash: Whisk the egg yolk in a small bowl until smooth and set aside.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the proofed buns. Drape 1 cookie dough round over each bun and brush with a thin coating of egg wash. Score a shallow crosshatch pattern (1 inch between each line) onto each using the dull side of a small knife.
• Bake, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the tops of the buns are golden brown and the edges are light golden, about 15 minutes.
• Let cool for 10 minutes then gently transfer each bun to a wire rack. Enjoy warm or completely cooled.