Double Sweet Potato Bun

Hello! 

This is 'Tina!

This section of the blog will be all about food! Because I love food - both cooking and eating it lol :)

It's been a long time since I've done a lot of baking because I got lazy after a while in Singapore and I didn't do much for the first couple months after we came back to Sydney. Recently, a baking frenzy has hit home and I've been churning out quite a few goodies (if I do say so myself).

Today's post will be about sweet potato bread. While Michael and I were in Japan, we found purple sweet potato powder in a supermarket selling lots of foreign imported stuff. I think it was a supermarket selling stuff for baking as they had lots items for baking. We decided to buy it on a whim because we didn't think we would be able to get something like this in Sydney.

I googled quite a few recipes for sweet potato bread and most used fresh potato. Then, I found this recipe which uses the powder but because I don't have a bread machine with a dough course, I decided to look for more recipes and found this one which makes the dough by hand. I also liked it for the filling and now, away to the kitchen we go!

1/20 sec, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 800, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

Walnuts over sesame seeds because I hadn't glazed it yet.

1/50 sec, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 1250, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

As you can see in the picture, my dough ended up a bit on the dry side. The dough didn't stick together very nicely once I had filled it up and tried to pinch the sides together to form a ball. I think maybe it was because I used bread flour while I was kneading the dough and hence added a bit too much flour? Or maybe I didn't use a damp tea towel to cover the buns while they were proving the second time? Oh well, first trials are a learning experience.

1/15 sec, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 500, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

Glazing!

1/40 sec, 12mm, f/2.0, ISO 500, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

Finished product.

1/15 sec, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 500, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

Tried cutting slits and I think it turned out looking quite pretty.

1/15 sec, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 800, M.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0.

Thought we would make the buns look even prettier in a wicker basket. I think the tea towel kind of complements the purple buns.

1/8 sec, 32mm, f/5.0, ISO 1250, M.Zuiko 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR.

Close-up shot!

1/10 sec, 42mm, f/5.6, ISO 1250, M.Zuiko 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR.

1/6 sec, 41mm, f/5.6, ISO 1250, M.Zuiko 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR.

1/10 sec, 22mm, f/4.1, ISO 1250, M.Zuiko 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR.

Bun cut in half so you can see what it looks like inside.

Everyone thought the filling was sweet but not overly so (I used maple syrup instead of honey as sweetener) and the filling was a nice addition compared to the Chinese bakery versions, which are quite plain. The filling to dough ratio was 'perfect' according to Michael.  His mum said that the buns looked store-bought when they first came out of the oven. \0/

I thought that the dough part was nice and fluffy and the bun itself had a nice aroma. I liked the filling as well though maybe using purple sweet potato would have been nicer? Imagine...a completely purple bun!!! The walnuts were a nice addition - both in terms of looks and texture. 

I think I might now be trying to make more breads... Brioche would be nice...hmmm.

Till the next meal or snack...