Hong Kong Pineapple Buns

 

  I received a postcard recently from Hong Kong, written by a sixteen-year old girl who said that she likes to cook. I asked her if there were any recipes that I, as a foodie and lover of international cuisine, should try. She sent me a recipe for Hong Kong Pineapple Buns, which have no pineapple in them, and are named for the way they look after they are baked.

  The pineapple buns are popular in many areas in Asia, and in Cantonese, are called bo lo baau. The word bo lo means pineapple, and baau refers to something similar to a bun in Chinese cuisine. They consists of two parts, a bread-like bottom layer, and a sugar-cookiesque top layer.

To make the pineapple buns, you have to mix a batch of sweet bread dough, let it rise twice, and then mix up the topping. After the two parts are layered together, they are baked, and come out beautifully. Or at least, they are supposed to!

Step One: Form the Sweet Bread Dough

Step Two: Rise and Punch, Rise and Punch

Step Three: Make Topping

Step Four: Knead Topping, Chill One Hour

Step Five: Form Buns (12), Divide Topping, Top Buns, Score Surface, Brush on Egg White

Step Six: Bake Ten to Fifteen Minutes

Step Seven: Serve!

My buns aren’t as pretty as I’d have liked…but I guess practice will make perfect! The professional ones really DO look like little round pineapples :)

These are the links I was given to use:

for the sweet bread dough:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/42225/sweet-bread-dough.html

for the pineapple topping:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/49704/hong-kong-pineapple-buns.html#