Brown Butter Honey Sweet Potato Bread

5.0 from 18 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: Bread

Cuisines: Chinese Japanese

Ingredients: Vegetables

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 140 gram/5 oz./10 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 packet (7 gram/0.25 oz./2.25 teaspoon) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) lukewarm milk (~ 38 Celsius/100 Fahrenheit)
• 360-400 gram (~ 3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (100 gram/7 oz.) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mashed/pureed cooked sweet potatoes
• 16 tablespoon sweet red bean paste (optional)
• 2 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Brown butter: melt unsalted butter in a small sauce pot on medium until foamy and light brown, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Yeast solution: mix together yeast, sugar, and lukewarm milk. Set aside until foamy.
3. Bread dough: whisk together all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well, then add 4 tablespoon of brown butter, all the yeast solution, egg, and sweet potato. Knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. You may need to add 1-2 tablespoon of flour if the dough is too sticky. Kneading time is around 20 minutes.
4. Transfer dough in an oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a wet kitchen towel/saran plastic, proof until the volume is doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with a parchment paper. Set aside.
6. Melt 4 tablespoon brown butter (it may well be in solid state by now) and stir in 1 tablespoon of honey.
7. Punch the dough down to deflate and let out air bubble. Transfer to a floured surface, knead for 2 minutes, and divide dough into 16 portions.
8. Option 1 (Plain): Roll each portion into a ball.
9. Option 2 (Filling): Flatten each portion into a circle, add 1 tablespoon of sweet red bean paste, and roll into a ball.
10. Coat each portion with honey brown butter, and arrange on the prepared pan. Cover the pan and proof again until the dough fills the pan completely, about 1 hour in a warm kitchen.
11. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. Glaze: Melt the rest of the brown butter with the remaining tablespoon of honey to make the glaze.
13. Once the bread is out from the oven, brush the top with glaze for extra shine and even more brown butter honey goodness. Serve hot.