Cookbook Club – Mooncakes and Milkbread

For our Cookbook Club in June, we used Kristina Cho’s Mooncakes and Milkbread. The cookbook really did make us feel like we were in a Chinese bakery! To peruse all of our savory and sweet goods, go to my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish!

I think I might have chosen the Sambal and Parmesan Buns based purely on the picture of these cool-looking ribbed pastries, but then I looked at the ingredients and the combo of sambal oolek (chili paste) and parmesan sealed the deal.

I made Tangzhong by cooking flour and milk until it thickened into a paste.

I stirred yeast and sugar into warm milk, and set it aside until the surface was foamy.

Using the dough hook in my stand mixer, I combined sugar, bread flour, salt, egg, the Tangzhong, and the milk/yeast mixture until shaggy. Then I mixed in softened butter one piece at a time.

I continued to knead until the dough was tacky, then formed it into a ball and let it proof until doubled in size.

After proofing, I divided the dough into 12 equal portions. I rolled each portion into a roughly 3×5-inch rectangle. I cut slits in one half, then coated the other half with sambal oolek and parmesan.

Starting from the coated end, I rolled each bun up and placed them seam-side down on a baking sheet to proof until doubled in size.

While the oven preheated, I brushed the risen buns with an egg and cream mixture, then sprinkled with more parmesan.

I baked until golden brown, and was so pleased that these Sambal and Parmesan Buns came out looking just like the picture in the cookbook!

The milk bread dough recipe was more complicated than the one I usually make, but the bun form was easy to execute and impressive-looking. I will definitely make these again, and look forward to mixing and matching this roll shape with other flavors.