I am the worst! I haven’t forgotten about my blog - I’ve just been too busy/lazy to post updates. It looks like I’m at that New Year’s resolution stage where the wheels start falling off the wagon — even though I’m sure this is the longest anyone’s ever stuck with a resolution. Sure, the first month of 2015 is almost in the books and I’m still not at 52 dishes… but anyone that knows me well enough knows I’ve never been on time for anything in my life. I was even born two weeks late, so I guess it’s literally been a problem since day 1.

I haven’t stopped cooking - I’ve just been making a lot of repeat dishes or throwing together things that are too similar to past blog posts that I’d feel like a cheater for posting them. Okay, I’ll stop with the excuses! I made these delicious milk buns three weeks ago and kept forgetting to publish a blog post about them!

The recipe was very straight forward, but kneading the dough was a huge test of patience. Despite my love for bread making, I’d say dough kneading is one of my least favourite activities. It’s a pretty good arm workout… for the first five minutes. The next 25 minutes are usually filled with curse words, sore shoulders and fingers, obsessive clock-watching, and tricking yourself into thinking the dough has been sufficiently kneaded. I tried kneading the dough with my hand mixer at the beginning… until my mixer overheated and started to smell burnt. The effort was certainly worth it in the end — the milk buns turned out delicious and looked Chinese bakery-worthy. For those of you who haven’t tried milk buns, I wish I could tell you whether it’s a dessert, snack, lunch, or appetizer. I honestly have no idea. I spent my childhood seizing every opportunity to consume them. They’re like sweet dinner rolls that can be topped with anything from sugar to pork. I went a little plain and filled mine with raisins or a coconut filling. They were deeee-lish-shus.

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Recipe

Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside for about 5 minutes until the surface is foamy.

Beat together the milk, sugar, and egg.

Combine flour and salt. Add the yeast and milk mixtures.

Knead dough for about 8 minutes before adding the softened butter. Knead for another 20-30 minutes until the dough can be stretched very thin without breaking. This is a sign of proper gluten development. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a wet towel for 50 minutes.

Punch the dough down once it has proofed and divide into 12 equal pieces. Let the dough relax for about 15 minutes before shaping.

Shape the buns as you please. I rolled the dough into thin strips and braided or created swirls with them.

Place the buns onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp towel and allow the buns to rise for another hour.

Brush the egg wash onto the buns before sticking them into the oven. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!