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a stack of strawberry pineapple bun with cream cheese filling. .
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5 from 5 votes

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pineapple bun

Soft and fluffy milk bread filled with strawberry cream cheese and topped with a crunchy cookie top. Please read through the main post for all the tips to succeed. A scale is recommended for this recipe.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time16 minutes
Proofing time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours 46 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 8 buns
Author: Edwina

Ingredients

Tangzhong

  • 30 g boiling water 2 tbsp
  • 25 g bread flour 2½ tbsp

Cream Cheese Filling

  • 170 g cream cheese 6 oz, softened
  • 70 g strawberry jam ¼ cup
  • 20 g sugar 1½ tbsp, or to taste
  • 1⅓ tablespoon freeze dried strawberries (pulverized into powder)

Bun Dough

  • 250 g bread flour 2 cup
  • 30 g cake flour ¼ cup
  • 30 g sugar 2 tablespoon + 1 tsp
  • 15 g honey a little bit less 1 tbsp
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 25 g beaten egg ½ large egg, ⅛ cup, save the rest for making cookie top
  • 80 g milk ⅓ cup
  • 60 g water ¼ cup
  • all Tangzhong Paste
  • 4 g sea salt ½ tsp
  • 30 g cold unsalted butter 2 tbsp, cut into 6 pieces

Cookie Top

  • 70 g butter 5 tbsp, soften
  • 60 g powdered sugar ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
  • 25 g beaten egg use the rest of the egg from making bread dough
  • 20 g condensed milk 1 tbsp
  • 120 g bread flour 1 cup, plus more for dusting
  • 2 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries (pulverized into powder)

Instructions

Mak Tangzhong the Night Before

  • Measure 25 grams of bread flour in a bowl. Set the kitchen scale to zero with the flour and bowl on it and pour in 30 grams of boiling water. Stir until combined to form a sticky dough.
  • Let it cool down before storing in the fridge for overnight or at least 4 hours

Cream Cheese Filling

  • Mix cream cheese and jam together until smooth. Taste before adding sugar as the sweetness of the jam depends on the brand you use. Adjust the amount of the sugar based on your taste.
  • Pulverize the freeze dried strawberry before adding to the cream cheese mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and store it in the fridge until it's ready to use.

Bun Dough

  • Add all the ingredients for the dough except for sea salt and butter into the stand mixer and knead on low speed until the dough is formed.
  • Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • When it's done resting, add salt and continue to knead the dough until you can pull and stretch the dough for 2" (5 cm) without breaking.
  • Add butter cubes one at a time and knead until the dough is very smooth and passes the windowpane test, see the picture in the post. (This step takes me about 6-7 minutes, with 5 minutes on low speed and 1 -2 minute on medium speed. The actual time it takes you depends on your mixer.)
  • Form the dough into a ball (it will be very sticky, but if it's too sticky to handle, then add a little bread flour and knead for another 1~2 minutes) and put it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover, and let it rise for 1 hour to 1.5 hours in a warm place (about 82°F to 90°F) until it doubles in size.

Cookie Top

  • Meanwhile, make the cookie top. In a bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar together. Add the egg mixture in four batches into the mixture, incorporating one batch before adding the next.
  • Add condensed milk and mix well.
  • Add bread flour and the pulverized freeze dried strawberries, fold a few times until the butter mixture is all coated with flour before pouring onto a working surface.
  • Use a bench knife (dough cutter) to fold and press with your palm until the flour and the butter mixture are well combined.
  • Place the cookie top mixture on a piece of plastic wrap and roll it into a log. Twist the two sides to seal (see the picture in the post) and store it in the fridge until ready to use.

Assemble

  • Transfer the dough onto a working surface and cut it into 8 even pieces. Form each piece into a ball by tucking the edges into the bottom. Cover them all with a piece of greased plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.
  • Take the cream cheese filling our from the fridge and set it aside.
  • Take one piece of the dough, flatten it with your finger to form a round 3½" (10 cm) diameter disk with the edge thinner than the middle part.
  • Place a scoop of cream cheese filling in the center and wrap the edges together over the filling and pinch to seal. Repeat the same for the rest.
  • Take the cookie dough out from the fridge, cut it into 8 even pieces.
  • Dust some flour on the working surface and just a little bit on the top side of the cookie dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the cookie dough out to be big enough to cover the surface of the bun (the bottom part doesn't need to be covered).
  • Place the cookie dough on the bun with the top side (the side with less flour) touching the bun and wrap it over the top side carefully. Make sure to let the cookie dough stick directly to the bun dough without any gaps. Repeat the same for the rest of the buns and place them on a lined baking tray with 2½" (6 cm) space between each. If you cannot work fast enough before the cookie dough begins to soften, store half in the fridge until you are ready to use.
  • Use a bench knife to make the classic criss cross patterns on the top of the buns if you like. You can also just let it split naturally after proofing, depending on your preference.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for around 50 minutes or until the expanding dough causes cracks/separation in the cookie top.

Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) towards the end of the proofing process. Adjust the rack such that one is in the middle, and the other is 2-3 levels above.
  • Place the tray with buns on the middle rack, and a empty tray on the rack above to prevent the buns from browning. Bake for 16 minutes or until the top is very crispy.
  • Place the buns on a cooling rack and let it cool down for 15 minutes before enjoying.