Soft and Fluffy Potato Bun with Custard Topping

The aroma of freshly baked bread wafting from the kitchen is one of my all-time favourite smells. My boys will magically appear in the kitchen whenever a loaf is done no matter what they were doing prior to it.

Nothing smells like home more than bread that’s just been pulled out of the oven. But is bread-making really for everyone? It may sound intimidating and more often than not, many people end up dropping the idea before even trying.

Bread baking isn’t hard per se. It is time-consuming, yes, with the proofing and all but we can easily deal with that if we plan our day ahead of baking.

For example, the usual proofing time is 60 minutes. So I usually start the washing machine before I begin with the dough so by the time the dough is proofing, I can hang the laundry to dry or should I bake early in the morning, I can even go for my morning jog while the dough is proofing.

I can tell you from experience that it’s easier than it seems especially if you have the right tools and the one most important tool for me for all my bread making is my electric mixer with kneading function. It is not very pricey with most modern electric mixer these days having this function.

Highlighted

To help you kick-start on this bread making journey, I am sharing an easy yet super delicious soft and fluffy potato bun recipe. If you are new to bread making, this is a good recipe to start with.

Mashed potatoes make the rolls extra-soft and fluffy even if you over-knead or under-knead the dough a little so there is room for error which won’t jeopardize the outcome much.

Preparation time: 120 minutes (Including dough proofing time)
Baking time: 30 minutes
Serving Size: 20 pieces

Ingredients:

350g bread flour
100g plain flour
2 teaspoon instant yeast
100g sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs + 1 for egg wash
60 ml water
2 tablespoon milk powder
150g mashed potatoes
60g butter

Topping:

60g instant custard powder
120ml water

Method:

1. Boil/Steam 2 potatoes.
2. Mash. Weigh 150g mashed potato and set aside. You can eat the balance while it is still warm.
3. Add bread flour, plain flour, sugar, yeast, salt, mashed potatoes, 2 tablespoon milk powder, 2 eggs and 60ml water.
4. Knead.
5. Add butter cubes in batches.
6. Continue kneading until the dough is elastic and not sticky.
7. Proof for an hour or until dough doubles in size.
8. Divide dough into 20 equal pieces.
9. Grease tray.
10. Roll dough into balls.
11. Proof for 40 minutes.
12. Mix instant custard powder with water.
13. Pour into piping bag.
14. Brush dough with egg wash.
15. Pipe custard onto the dough.
16. Bake at 190C for 30 minutes (depending on your oven). Mine took 30 minutes.

Note:

• When proofing, use a damp cloth to cover to maintain moisture.
• Every oven bakes differently. Check your buns at 15 minutes mark to see if they are done. My oven bakes. slightly slower hence it took 30 minutes for mine to be done.

A word of caution though, these soft and fluffy potato buns are delightfully yummy so make sure you bake enough for everyone at home because I am sure they won’t stop at just ONE.