Spicy Tuna Buns (Asian Bakery Style)

Course: Baked Buns

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 20

Proof the dough twice:: 2

Total Time: 2 50

Servings: large buns

Calories: 465kcal

Author: Marvellina

Soft, pillowy, and packed with a deliciously spicy tuna filling, these Asian bakery-style buns are the perfect combination of savory and mildly spicy flavors.

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

For the dough:

340 g bread flour 12.7% protein content plus more for dusting
½ tsp salt
40 g sugar
50 g egg from one large egg
160 g whole milk
20 g milk powder
2 tsp instant yeast
65 g unsalted butter softened

For the filling:

340 g canned tuna in oil 3 of 5-oz cans
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Ketchup
3 Tbsp sriracha chili sauce or your favorite chili sauce, adjust amount to your tolerance
2 cups Shredded cheddar cheese or more as needed

Egg wash:

1 large egg beaten
⅛ tsp salt

Topping:

Grated Parmesan cheese powder

Instructions

Prepare the dough:

Add all of the ingredients for the dough, except for the butter, into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Start the machine and knead the dough on speed 2 until the dough starts to come together into one sticky mass, about 3 minutes
Increase the speed to 4 and continue to knead until the dough is relatively smooth. You need to stop and scrape the dough off the hook and the bowl several times during this process
Gradually add the butter, one pat at a time. It is a REAL sticky mess again because of the butter, just keep kneading and stop halfway and scrape the dough off the hook and bowl again and continue to knead until the butter is absorbed by the dough. Don't add any flour.
You will get a shiny smooth dough that is very elastic and sticky. It may take 10-15 minutes of kneading with a machine on speed 4. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom of the bowl and that's ok.
If you gently stretch a small amount of the dough slowly, it shouldn't break easily. This shows that the dough has good gluten development already and you can stop kneading

First proofing:

Oil a bowl and put the dough in there. Cover with a damp towel or cling wrap. Let it proof in a warm place. It may take 1-2 hours or longer for the dough to double in size. This depends on the temperature. The colder it is, the longer it will take to proof
When you poke your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, the dough is done proofing. If it bounces back almost immediately, it needs to proof longer

Prepare the filling:

You can drain off excess oil if it's a bit too much. The excess oil can make it difficult to wrap later. Combine tuna, mayo, chili sauce, and ketchup in a bowl and stir to combine while you are waiting for the dough to finish proofing the last 10 minutes or so

Shaping:

Line one large or two medium-size baking pans with parchment paper. Deflate the dough and knead a few times to push out all the air
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions or 10 to 12 smaller portions if you want smaller size buns
Fold each dough onto itself to form a round dough ball. Keep them covered to prevent them from drying out. Work with one dough at a time. Flatten one piece of dough into an oblong shape, about 5 inches long. Spread about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on the dough and then top with 1/8 of the tuna filling on top.
Fold the edges up and pinch the seams together to seal tightly
Place them on a prepared pan, seam side down.
Let the shaped dough proof again for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until they puffy and when you gently push on the dough, it bounces back very slowly and leaves some indentation.
10 minutes before the end of final proofing, preheat the oven to 375 F (195 C) for conventional oven, 350 F (10 C) for convection oven
To prepare the egg wash, whisk the egg and salt. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese powder

Baking:

I recommend baking one pan at a time. Put the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If you make smaller buns, it may only take 13-15 minutes

Cool on the rack:

Immediately transfer the buns to a wire rack to prevent the bottom of the buns from getting soggy. Let them cool down for about 10 minutes. They can be served warm or at room temperature

Nutrition