Thumbprint Korean Bread

I like the addition of something 'special' in the breads I made, like mung beans, cassava, potato, banana, sweet corn, flaxseed, carrot, pumpkin, purple sweet potato, spring onion and cheese, cheese, and milo. For me, those ingredients make the texture, the color and the taste of our bread more interesting and appealing. So, I will try to keep experimenting with those and of course other ingredients in the future.

I have to admit that I failed for many times in making those bread. I think the success depends not only on my hands but also on the quality of the ingredients we used. Let's say, we can't always get the same quality of cassava though we bought them from the same source. Sometimes the pumpkin was more watery than before or the potato was more starchy or the sweet potato was less sweet. Then, we have to be able to adjust the recipe. And that's not easy for me, really. 

So, for the 'safety reason' (means that I will not be embarrassed...hehe...), I rarely make those kind of bread for my friends or neighbors. But I will choose to make bread with a minimum risk to fail like this korean bread. With this korean bread recipe we can always make such a lovely, soft and fluffy breads like those in the bakeries.

Actually I posted this bread once 3 years ago. But I didn't know if my almond custard bread is korean bread which the original recipe was taken from Koko Hidayat's book. This time I make it again, still using the same recipe but shape it like roti thumbprint ubi in sajian sedap.

Btw, I join a new cooking and baking group at facebook named Your Kitchen MyKitchen (YMKM). And I submit this post to Challenge #7 Aneka kreasi Roti. 

Korean Bread
Original Recipe By Koko Hidayat

Ingredients:

50 gr white glutinous rice flour

50 ml hot boiled water

200 - 2225 ml cold water 

2 eggs

100 gr butter

1 tsp salt

100 gr sugar

15 gr milk powder

500 gr bread flour

11 gr instant yeast

25 gr sesame seeds

100 gr red cherries, chopped

Vla

By Sajian Sedap

250 ml milk

50 gr sugar

25 gr corn flour (maizena)

1 egg yolk

1 tbs margarine

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Method

For Vla:

• In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and cornflour. Stir constantly until it just come to the boil. Off the stove.
• Take a little bit of the mixture and pour in the egg yolk. Stir it quickly.
• Pour it back to the mixture. On the stove again. Stir until it bubbling. Add the margarine and vanilla.  Stir constantly until it smooth. Remove from the heat, cover the saucepan with plastic wrap and let it cool.
• Spoon it in the piping bag.

For Bread:

• Mix well glutinous flour and hot water. Set aside.
• Combine flour, yeast, milk powder, and sugar with a wooden spoon.
• Add in eggs. Pour water little by little (we may not use all the water, just as needed) and knead until all are well blended. We can use the mixer with the dough hook or just our hands.
• Add butter or margarine and salt and knead again until the dough is half elastic. Add in glutinous rice paste. Knead until elastic.
• Round the dough into big ball and put them in a greased big bowl. Cover with cling wrap or damp tea towel and let rise until double in size for about 60 minutes or so.
• Punch the dough. Knead again briefly.
• Cut the dough into 40 gr each, roll it into a ball shape. Place sesame seeds on a plate. Roll the dough on the sesame seed. Using our thumb or the end of small rolling pin, make an indentation on the centre of the dough. Fill it with vla. Decorate using a piece of cherry. Place it on a greased baking pan.  
• Cover and let rise again for another 60 minutes or so.
• Heat the oven. Bake until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven. Brush with butter. Let it cool.