Back in 2015, my family and I went to Hong Kong for a short holiday. I did not realise that it has been five years until I actually typed it out. As it was my nephew's first overseas trip, we were worried that he would go hungry before meal times. So, we decided to buy some bread from the bakery (Maxim Bakery) at the train station for him to snack on before we began exploring the city. Surprisingly, I love it so much that my family snacked on a loaf everyday and we bought two more back to Singapore. Even though it looks unassuming, it is soft, rich and mildly sweet. You can even eat it on its own too. Maxim bakery isn't a fancy or instagram worthy cafe/bakery. They are conveniently located at the train stations / shopping malls. 

I tried to make 排包 using two different starters - Tang Zhong and Poolish starters on two separate occasions. The Tang Zhong method of baking bread is more popular among asian breads. However, my family prefers the version made with the poolish starter. Both methods yield really soft bread but the bread with poolish starter is slightly lighter and fluffier. Gotta work on shaping these oval long buns. Keep them in an air tight container / ziplock bag after they have cooled. They remain soft the next day too. 

Recipe (Original recipe adapted from Eelmsthebaker)

Poolish

125g Bread Flour

125g Milk 

0.5g Yeast 

Main Dough

100g Bread Flour 

25g Cake Flour

40g Sugar

25g Egg

25g Milk 

20g Condensed Milk 

1/4 tsp Salt 

2.5g Instant Yeast 

30g Butter

1. Prepare poolish the night before and refrigerate it. 

2. Mix everything except butter and salt. Knead until dough is smooth

3.Add butter and salt and knead until window pane stage. 

4. Proof dough in an oiled bowl until double in size (Approximately 1hr) 

5. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll them into a long oval shape. Fold 1/3 of the long edge to the middle. Gently seal it and roll to the other end. Seal the seams and roll to about 20cm. 

6. Let it proof until double in size (Anothr 45mins - 1 hr). Glaze them with your preferred egg wash.

7. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius Turn down the heat to 160 degrees celcius and bake for about 18 mins.