Shio pan makes a comeback as pandemic baking trend

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SINGAPORE - Shio pan (salted bread in Japanese) is making a comeback as a pandemic baking trend.

The salty buttery bread is said to have originated from Pain Maison, a bakery in Japan's Ehime Prefecture in late 2014.

Bakeries here which rolled out their own versions in 2015 found it to be a top seller.

In recent months, the crispy crescent-shaped rolls started trending again, this time among home bakers.

YouTube offers a selection of shio pan recipe videos posted by home bakers from Japan and other countries.

One of the most popular ones is by YouTuber Kkuume, who is Korean and based in Canada. Her video recipe for Crispy Soft Salted Butter Rolls has garnered more than 93,000 views since its release in April.

I find the recipe user-friendly as it does not require a stand-mixer with a dough hook. It requires very little manual labour beyond shaping the dough into rolls.

It is time-consuming, though, as you need pockets of time to proof the dough, with minimal folding at intervals.

Kkuume offers a time-saving solution, which is to proof the dough at the end in the oven. She uses warm water and heats the oven briefly to create hot and humid conditions for a final proof of just 20 minutes.

If you choose not to use the oven to hasten the process, just leave it out to rise gently for 1½ hours.

I tried three types of yeast and find that RedMan Instant Dry Yeast works best for this recipe.

Just 90ml of water is sufficient to form the dough. If you find the dough too dry, add one more teaspoon (5ml) of water.

A spatula is all you need to mix the dough. Do not be worried if the initial dough looks stringy. It will smoothen out after proofing and folding.

I obtained the best results with unbleached bread flour and all- purpose flour from Innobake Taiwan Blue Jacket. These flours resulted in bread with a soft and fine texture.

To get your dough into a circular shape, roll it out into a small oval. Turn it 90 degrees, then roll it out into a circle.

Shaping the individual rolls into perfect crescents takes some practice. Do not be overly caught up with aesthetics. The final results will still be tasty.

Also, do not be disheartened if butter leaks out of the dough during the proofing stage.

I tried this recipe eight times, but have yet to find a way to prevent leakage. On the upside, the leaked butter helps to give the rolls a crispier bottom when baked.

Despite the leakage, enough butter remains in the centre when you bite into the roll.

It helps to have the butter semi-frozen for cutting into pieces.

While the recipe calls for each butter piece to be 6g, I went up to 8g without issues.

Once you cut the butter, place it on baking paper and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to shape the rolls. In Singapore weather, butter does not hold its shape well out of the fridge.

Kkuume's recipe calls for baking the bread at 210 deg C for 13 to 16 minutes. For my oven, I found that 11 minutes at 200 deg C was sufficient.

The bread recipe is versatile and you can stuff the bun with a sausage, instead of butter.

For optimal taste and texture, shio pan is best consumed while hot and toasty. The butter-soaked centre, combined with the topping of sea salt flakes, leaves you wanting more.

If you have leftovers, let them cool to room temperature and freeze them in resealable bags or freezer-safe containers.

To reheat, wrap in foil if using an oven toaster and toast without defrosting. The foil prevents the top of the bread from getting burnt before the interior is heated through.

Kkuume recommends reheating for 20 seconds in the microwave. I do it for 45 seconds, as I do not bother with defrosting.

I have kept the shio pan in the freezer for up to a week. Once reheated, it tastes as good as when it is freshly baked.

Follow Hedy Khoo on Instagram @hedchefhedykhoo, and Straits Times Food on Instagram and Facebook @straitstimesfood

 
Shio pan (salted butter rolls)

Ingredients

• 73g unsalted butter (25g unsalted butter on its own; 48g cut into eight pieces for filling, keep in the freezer until ready to use)

• 45g full cream milk

• 690ml water (90ml for mixing; 600ml for proofing)

• 4g instant yeast

• 4g fine salt

• 20g caster sugar

• 130g bread flour (110g for mixing; 20g for dusting)

• 110g plain flour

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3g sea salt flakes

 

Equipment

A large mixing bowl, a spatula, a rolling pin, a bench knife, a 35cm by 26cm baking tray, a spray bottle filled with 100ml water and a deep heat-proof dish

 

Method

1. Place the 25g portion of butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds until melted.

2. In another microwave-safe bowl, add the milk and 90ml of water. Microwave for 20 seconds. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the instant yeast to the mixing bowl.

4. Add the fine salt, caster sugar, melted butter, 110g of bread flour and plain flour.

5. Use the spatula to stir the mixture until it forms a dough. The dough does not have to be smooth.

6. Use your thumb and index finger to pinch a small portion of the dough and pull it. It should have a slightly stretchy texture.

7. Pour the olive oil over the dough. Use the spatula to turn the dough and ensure its surface is lightly coated in the olive oil.

8. Cover the mixing bowl with clingwrap and allow the dough to proof for 15 minutes.

9. Remove the clingwrap. Take the dough out. Holding the dough in your hands, gently pull its sides towards the bottom, pressing the edges into the centre. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, stretch and fold it again. The dough should be ball-shaped.

10. Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with clingwrap and proof for another 15 minutes.

11. Take the dough out from the bowl and fold it again.

12. Place the dough back into the bowl and proof for another 15 minutes.

13. While waiting for the dough to proof, bring 600ml of water to a boil and set aside.

14. Once the dough is proofed, test if it is ready by inserting a wet finger into the middle of it. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready. If the dough springs back, proof it for another 10 to 15 minutes.

15. Dust a clean surface and the rolling pin with a little bread flour.

16. Transfer the dough onto the clean surface.

17. Using the rolling pin, gently press down the dough ball. Turn it over and press it down.

18. Roll it out into a circular shape with a diameter of about 25cm.

19. Using the bench knife, cut the dough into eight triangle-shaped slices.

20. Work with one piece of dough at a time. Place the remaining pieces of dough on a plate and keep them covered with clingwrap.

21. Place the piece of dough with the shortest length nearest to you. Use the rolling pin to roll out the dough. The bottom part should be about 10cm wide. Stretch and roll the dough to a length of 27cm.

22. At the bottom of the dough, place a 6g piece of butter (above left). Fold the dough over to cover the butter. Gently press the dough around the butter to seal it in.

23. Roll up the dough from the bottom towards the top (above right).

24. Stretch the last 5cm of the top edge to wrap towards the bottom of the roll and press to seal the edge.

25. Do the same with the remaining pieces of dough. Place each roll on a baking paper-lined tray, leaving space between each piece.

26. Lightly spray water over the dough and cover the tray with clingwrap.

27. Take the hot water and pour it into a heatproof dish. Place the dish of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Heat the oven at 180 deg C for 30 seconds, then switch it off. The heat in the oven should be around 38 deg C.

28. Place the tray of dough in the upper rack of the oven and close the oven door. The hot and humid oven is meant to speed up the proofing of the dough. Proof it for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven.

29. Allow the dough to continue proofing for another 15 minutes.

30. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven at 230 deg C.

31. Once the dough is proofed, spray it lightly with water. Sprinkle each piece of dough with a pinch of sea salt flakes.

32. Bake at 200 deg C for 11 minutes.

Makes eight rolls.

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

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