Custard cream bread

Today’s recipe is cream-ppang custard cream filled bread, one of my favorite pastries at any Korean bakery. Since as long as I can remember it’s been one of the most popular items in Korean bakeries, along with a sweet red bean-filled bread called danpat-ppang. When I was a kid I used to eat both of these all the time, and even though so many trends have come and go, they are still among the top sellers!

I developed this recipe because it’s hard to go out during this pandemic, and I really felt like some sweet cream-ppang. But the result was so good that I think they taste better than the ones at a Korean bakery, because the bread is so much fluffier, filling, and more nutritious. One bun and a glass of milk make a good snack or breakfast.

The custard cream in this recipe is fast to make and really creamy and delicious. You could use it in other dessert recipes, too. I used 4 egg yolks to make it a rich yellow color, but you could just use 2 whole eggs instead. You need a whisk to make it creamy, a spoon is not enough. I knead the bread for 12 minutes (longer than in my roll-ppang recipe) because I want to develop the stretchy gluten to make the bread elastic enough to handle being filled with custard cream and not fall apart.

Enjoy the recipe, I hope you make some delicious cream-ppang for you and your family!

Ingredients

Makes 5 cream-ppang

for custard cream:

• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• a pinch of kosher salt
• 4 egg yolks, beaten and strained (or 2 eggs, beaten)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for bread:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast (1 pkg)
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose wheat flour

for egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

Make custard cream:

1. Place the flour, sugar, milk, and salt in a medium-sized pan. Whisk until there are no lumps.
2. Heat over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 to 4 minutes until bubbles start to pop up.
3. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low. Stir in the strained egg yolks a little by little, over 20 to 30 seconds.
4. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla extract and mix well. Let it cool and refrigerate until ready to use. You can refrigerate it for 1 or 2 days.
   

Make dough:

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy pot.
2. Remove from the heat. Add the milk and sugar. Mix well until all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the egg and mix it together. Then add the yeast and let it sit for a couple of minutes until the edges of the yeast are foamy.
4. Stir in the salt, add the flour, and mix all together with a wooden spoon until it turns into 1 lump.
5. Take it out and knead the dough by hand for 12 to 15 minutes until it turns smooth and elastic.
6. Put the dough back into the pot and cover. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 to 1½ hours, until it doubles in size.

Make egg wash:

1. Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl until evenly mixed.
2. Strain it into a small bowl and remove the small bubbles with a spoon. Set aside.

Shape and bake:

1. Deflate the dough and knead it for a few minutes. Divide the dough into 5 pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball.
2. Put the balls back into the pot, cover, and let sit for another 10 minutes.
3. Put one ball on a large cutting board and cover the rest so they don’t dry out.
4. Roll the ball out to an oval shape a little more than 6 inches long and 3½ to 4 inches wide. Use some flour to dust your hands and board if you need it.
5. Put it to the side of the cutting board when it’s rolled out. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
6. Put one of the oval dough discs on the cutting board in front of you. Spoon about ⅕ of the cream just a little off the center of the dough, a bit towards you. Lift the back of the dough over the cream to make a pocket. Pinch the edges together and make 3 or 4 slits into the pocket, just ½ to 1 inch deep. Put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Repeat with the rest of dough. Be careful not to crowd them on the baking sheet as they will expand when baked and we don’t want them to touch each other.
8. Gently brush some egg water on each uncooked bread pocket.
9. Let them rise for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350°F.
10. Bake the bread on the middle rack for 12 minutes.
11. Check out your bread. If you want them browner, cook for another minute or so.
12. Turn off the oven, take them out, let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and serve.