INTRODUCTION

I prepared a batch of peach buns for an old Teochew lady to celebrate her birthday. However, I am totally not happy with the outlook of the peach buns. I made a very simple mistake at the last minutes of the exercise, I open the the steamer lid too early. I forget to let the steam escape gradually and thus making my buns looked not smooth…

Prior to this, I have prepared another batch of peach buns which is perfectly okay but I did not took the picture of illustration and therefore unable to share with readers. Therefore, the pictures here comprise of two batches and the earlier batch do not have the green leaves.

This is an auspicious buns usually prepared for elderly to celebrate their birthday. They are buns that shaped like a peach and signify longevity. As per Wikipedia:

“A longevity peach, or shoutao, is a type of lotus seed bun. It is white with a red dyed tip with a crease along the side, mimicking the shape of a peach. The longevity peach is a representation of Peaches of Immortality. According to Chinese folk legends, these peaches ripen every thousands of years, and grant immortality to humans when consumed. The pastry is typically served at birthday banquets to attendees.”

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings : About 30 medium size peach buns

Dry Ingredients (A)

• 600 grams of bao flour or Hong Kong flour or low protein flour (水仙面粉）
• 50 grams of corn starch or potato starch （生粉或玉米粉）
• 100 grams of castor sugar （细砂糖）
• Pinches of salt （盐巴）
• 1/2 teaspoon of double acting baking powder/baking powder （双重发粉或发粉）
• 1/2 packet (5-6 grams) of instant dry yeast （即时酵母）
• 1/4 teaspoon of ammonia bicarbonate (optional) （臭粉 （可免））
• 30 grams of vegetable shortening or corn oil or cooking oil (白油）

Wet Ingredients (B)

• 320 grams of lukewarm water （温水）

Filling ingredients

• 450 grams of red bean paste (please refer here for red bean paste recipes: Homemade Red Bean Paste (家居自制红豆沙馅）or lotus seed paste.

Others

• Few drops of green colouring
• Few drops of peach red colouring
• A sieve
• A leaf cutter
• About 30 pieces of baking paper with about 5 cm x 5xm
• A tooth blush

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Put all dry ingredients (A)  in a whisking bowl. Use a spoon to stir the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre. Add in the lukewarm water.  Use the same spoon to roughly stir it until it form a sticky dough. Use the machine dough hook to knead the dough for another 15-20 minutes or until the dough looks smooth and leaves the side of the whisking bowl. If the dough is too wet for the kneading, add 1-2 tablespoon of flour to continue. You can also do this manually if you don’t prefer to use the machine kneading.

• In a flat surface, dust with some flour, transfer the dough to the flat surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough does not stick to your hand. Shape it into a ball, put it in a bowl. Cover with a wet towel or clingy wrap and let it prove for 30 minutes (or double in size) whenever is earlier. Note that this is a rather soft dough. As such, do add some plain flour or bao flour if it is too soft for you to handle.

• Divide the fillings into 30 equal portion of about 15 grams each. Shape round and set aside.

• After first proofing, take about 10% of the dough and add a few drops of pandan flavouring or green colouring. knead until the colour are even. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat with about 1 mm thickness. Use a leaf cutter to cut the dough into leave shape and set aside.

• Divide the proof dough into 30 equal balls, shape round and set aside. Take one dough, roll it flat and put a ball of filling (either lotus seed paste or red bean paste) on the centre of the dough, Seal the edges follow the shape of filling balls. Shape round.

• Lightly moisten two green leaves with water and attached to the bottom of the dough ball. Lightly pull the top of the buns such that it become an oval shape with a point on top. Use  a chopstick or spoon to make a dent that look like a peach. Put the peach buns on the steamer tray.

• Get ready some red colouring and wet the tooth brush with the red colouring.  Place the sieve on top of the buns and brush the wet tooth brush against the sieve. Ensure that every buns have a faint pinkish colour. Let it proof for another 15 minutes. Steam the buns over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Slightly open the steamer lid and let the hot air gradually escape. Sit in the steamer for another 2-3 minutes before fully open the lid.

CONCLUSION

Though it look difficult, it is not actually. Do not be overly greedy with the filling as it will become difficult to shape. Since it is a 30 buns recipe, you may need to steam in batches. Therefore, timing is very critical in this exercise. If possible, ask someone to help such that the assignment can be completed as soon as possible. As a general rule of thumb, for this bun, it is better to slightly under proof than over proof the buns as over proofed buns will have wrinkle bun surface that is not appealing.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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