Matcha Madness: Matcha Buns with Mochi & Red Bean paste

Hope I am not too late forWell it all started when I was browsing dear Quinn's blog a couple weeks back on her post on Matcha and White Chocolate Panna Cotta, which looks really classy and delicious desert. She was enthusiastic enough to join in the fun on making something Matcha, simply because she loves everything Matcha! Ann from pigpigscorner too made a lovely Matcha Cheesecake that was really good too. ;) Since I have yet baked anything Matcha before, I felt that this would be an excellent opportunity for me to try it out and get in the fun! So I went with making Matcha bread buns with mochi and sweet bean paste filling. If you have ever bought buns from some retail bakeries here, they do sell this bun that has mochi cum red bean filling which I find really unique and yummy! So instead of just plain red bean paste, I added fresh mochi (self made) and 2 different pastes, read bean and black sesame paste. ;)

Making the buns were really fun! My kids saw me kneading this green dough and thought I was making spinach bread! Lol! This dough recipe is pretty similar to the Cream Filled Mini Buns which I made awhile back.The main difference would be adding matcha powder into it. The dough is very easy to handle, not too sticky. :)

Since I wanted to add mochi in the buns I decided to make fresh mochi myself. I did not buy any mochi powder to make it, so I used the most traditional method which I knew my mum used to make. ;) It's actually quite easy, here is the recipe if anyone is interested:

Ingredients for homemade mochi:
125g glutinous rice flour
188ml water
3 tbsp of confectioner's sugar

• Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. The flour the mixture into a greased round 6" pan. Steam the mixture for 25 minutes till cooked.

• Once cooked, removed from steamer and let cool completely before removing from the pan. Reserve to use later.

Ingredients for Matcha Bread: (Makes about 16):
Set A:
348g bread flour
86g cake flour
26g milk powder
8g matcha powder
11g instant active yeast
Set B:
80g caster sugar
4g salt
44g beaten whole egg
200ml water
Set C:
44g butter, room temperature

Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, add in all of Set A ingredients in and mix well with a whisk.

• Add all of Set A flour mixture with Set B ingredients and mix well until it becomes a soft dough.
• Continue to beat / knead the dough till it reaches elastic and not sticky stage, which can be verified by using the "window stage".
• Add in the butter in Set C and knead well till mix in.
• Let the dough proof in a greased bowl and cove it. Allow it to proof for at least 90 minutes until the dough doubles.
• After proofing, punch out the air and divide the dough to about 40g each. Roll round and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out a portion of the dough flat (thinner on the side) and place 1 tbsp of red bean / black sesame paste in the center. Then cut about 1/2 tbsp of mochi and place it on top of the sweet paste. Seal the dough up nicely and place it on a greased baking tray. Repeat till all the dough are filled and sealed nicely. Sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top of those buns filled with black sesame paste to distinguish between the buns. Cover and let proof for another 15 to 20 minutes before baking.
• Preheat the oven to 180C .
  
• Brush the mini buns with egg wash and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes till golden brown on the surface.
  

I personally thought that after the buns came out from the oven, the green from the matcha was no longer that obvious. :P Even the taste itself wasn't that evident. Looks like I will have to double the dosage the next time. And one thing I kind of regretted too was not making the mochi in matcha flavor!! O well...better plan way ahead before plunging into making something next time....somehow I always do that. :P Anyway, I hope these buns still "pass" for matcha madness event, lol!

But overall I am really happy with the taste of these buns. :) The soft chewy mochi and the sweet paste filling went really well with the soft buns. :) Even on the 3rd day, it was still soft! I was glad I made enough to share with my mother, MIL and my sister. My sister was delighted because she was a real mochi lover and it was her that recommended me the mochi buns selling in the retail bakeries. If you like matcha and mochi, do give these sweet delights a try! Let me know how yours turned out and how you like them. ;)

Have a "early" good weekend all!