Mixed Herb Ham & Cheese Buns / Bread Cups

So... I got a Kenwood BM 250 bread machine as a gift from the favourite boy some time ago. I've made a few loaf breads and this is my second attempt at buns! I can proudly say that home-made buns and breads are so much tastier than what you can get commercially. 

Also, the aroma of freshly-baked bread is just to die for. (: 

So here as highly requested, the recipe for buns.. This time round, I used 1.5 recipe to yield more buns for my cell group's appreciation night. I made some Ham & Cheese bread cups as well as some Ham & Cheese Buns. The entire process takes about 3.5 hours inclusive of proofing. In all, the working time is only about 30 minutes or so. 

This recipe calls for TangZhong, a cooked bread flour and milk/water mixture so it makes the bread fluffier. This recipe was given to me by Jenia (:

Mixed Herb Ham & Cheese Bread Cups/Buns

This recipe is 1.5 portion and it yields 4 Ham & Cheese Buns and 36 Ham & Cheese Bread Cups

(I will be adding the regular 1 portion recipe below this which yields about 16 50g buns)

1.5 portion recipe

554g bread flour (I love Prima bread flour)

97g fine sugar

18g milk powder (I used Anlene)

9g instant dry yeast

225g tangzhong**

1.5 egg yolk

187 fresh milk

112g whipping cream (I used non-dairy)

7g salt

52g unsalted butter

*OPTIONAL: 10g mixed herbs (If you prefer plain bread, do not add this)

11 slices honey baked ham

Some shredded cheese

Some Japanese Mayonnaise (I used Ajinomoto)

**Tangzhong 

75g bread flour

375g fresh milk/water

*This recipe for tangzhong will yield more than enough tangzhong so there will be so excess. I prefer cooking a lil' more than the other smaller portion recipe I have as the smaller recipe sometimes yields insufficient tangzhong.

ALL INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 portion recipe

[yields about 16 50g buns]

370g bread flour (I love Prima bread flour)

65g fine sugar

12g milk powder (I used Anlene)

6g instant dry yeast

150g tangzhong **

1 egg yolk

125g fresh milk

75g whipping cream (I used non-dairy)

5g salt

35g unsalted butter

OPTIONAL: 6-7g dried mixed herbs (If you prefer plain buns, omit this)

**Tangzhong 

50g bread flour

250g fresh milk/water

*This recipe for tangzhong will yield more than enough tangzhong so there will be so excess. I prefer cooking a lil' more than the other smaller portion recipe I have as the smaller recipe sometimes yields insufficient tangzhong.

ALL INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

TANGZHONG

Weigh the bread flour. It's best to use a non-stick pan for the cooking of tangzhong.

Add the liquid. You may choose to use either water or milk.

Stir well. Allow mixture to cook over small-medium heat.

When mixture is ready, it will look gooey and will leave tracks when stirred. The original recipe calls for the tangzhong to be cooked to 65 degrees Celcius but I find this method easier. 

Scoop tangzhong onto a dish to cool.

Wrap the tangzhong with cling wrap to prevent drying whereby a layer of hard 'skin' will form on the tangzhong if left uncovered. Allow tangzhong to cool completely before use. I love to use a standing fan and blast the highest speed at the tangzhong to allow it to cool faster.

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Prepare all your ingredients. Please ensure that they are all at ROOM TEMPERATURE.

Fresh milk.

Milk powder.

Whipping cream.

Bread flour.

Sugar.

Instant dry yeast.

1.5 egg yolk.

My lil' busybody helper: Cartoon! (:

Butter & Salt.

Herbs de Provence that I got from JB. I love this for bread! Alternatively, you may use any mixed herbs you can find in your local supermarket.

Dried Herbs.

Here's a video to help you with the arrangement of the ingredients into the bread machine:

I used function 8 of my Kenwood BM 250 to prepare the bread dough. 

The entire machine process together with Proofing Stage 1 will take 1 hour 30 minutes. 

10 minutes into the timer at 01:20, when the mixer starts mixing again, add in the salt and butter as well as the dried mixed herbs. 

Allow the machine to do Proofing Stage 1. When it's ready, the beeper will sound. This is how full the bread machine will be with 1.5 portion recipe. Then, lightly flour your hands and "punch" the middle of the bread dough to allow excess air to escape. Then, remove dough from container to remove the 'blade'. Then, divide the bread dough into 3 balls/rounds and place it back into the bread machine which is turned off. Allow Proofing Stage 2 to take place in bread machine for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your materials for shaping the bread!

Don't you just love these adorable muffin cups? They're so American pop-cornish! (:

Have a silicon sheet (I love my Silpat!) ready that's lightly floured, a digital weighing scale and an extra bowl of bread flour. You may use a scraper but I find that the dough is manageable without the scraper.

Weigh the dough for the bread and shape them into balls. My bread cups had a base of 4.8cm and if you wish to have the cups almost full, 25g will be good. Else, if you want the cups to be full, 30g will be good. The baked difference is pretty little so it's up to your discretion how much dough you wish to use. 

For the buns, my base was about 9cm in diameter and 50g will give you a perfect sized bun. If you like your bun to be a lil' fuller, 55g will do the trick too. 

Once the bread cups/buns have been moulded, set them aside in a warm & dry place for Proofing Stage 3. This will take 50 minutes. I used my mega sized cake caddy to hold my buns for proofing.

15 minutes prior to the completion of Proofing Stage 3, preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. 

Slice up the chicken ham. For the bread cups, I used 2 slices of 1/8 slice of chicken ham and for the buns, I used 2 slices of 1/4 slice of chicken ham.

The bread cups have been proofed! (:

My toppings! 

Top the bread cups with 2 slices of honey baked ham.

Top with some mayonnaise.

Sprinkle some cheese!

Repeat steps for buns!

Bake the bread for 17 minutes or till' bread is golden brown. I DID NOT egg wash these breads as I prefer my mixed herb bread pale. However, if you prefer browner breads, you may egg wash your bread before placing the toppings. You can test if a bread is cooked by poking a toothpick into the middle of the bread. It should come out clean and dry. 

Allow bread to cool before storing into air-tight containers. Once again, I love to store them in my cake caddies! 

So, these Mixed Herb Ham & Cheese bread were a hit with my cell group members last night and it was so highly raved. It sure is my blessing to be able to bless those I love with food! This bread is just so fluffy and to die-for. So, bake some today and enjoy one of these darlings! 

I just love eating my bread warm so if you like, you can eat them fresh and piping hot from the oven or pop them into your preheated toaster oven for 3-5 minutes to warm them up before eating! 

ENJOY! 

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On a side note, you can adapt this bread recipe to make any other bread you fancy. 

For these pork floss buns I did a few days ago, you can follow the same recipe and make 50-55g plain buns. Allow buns to cool completely before applying a thin layer of Japanese Mayonnaise (I used Ajinomoto) with a butter knife, then, dip into a dish of pork floss or chicken floss.. and enjoy! (: 

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: