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BEST! Apple Buns (Japanese Ringo Pan)

Soft and fluffy slightly sweet buns are shaped like apples with stems and leaves and stuffed with cream cheese and caramelized apple filling. It tastes like eating an apple pie with a soft fluffy crust.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Apple Buns, Japanese Ring Pan, Ringo Pan
Servings: 8
Author: kanthi

Ingredients

For the Caramelized Apple

  • 2 apples
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 40 g brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the Filling

  • Prepared caramelized apples
  • 50 g cream cheese softened
  • 30 g raisins

For the Dough

  • 200 g bread flour *see the notes
  • 80 g plain flour plus extra for dusting
  • 15 g milk powder
  • 50 g sugar
  • 2 g salt
  • 3 g instant yeast or active dry yeast **see the notes
  • 30 g unsalted butter melted
  • 120 g milk slightly warm
  • 1 egg L, at room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk at room temperature

For the stems and the leaves

  • Pocky sticks or breadsticks as needed
  • Fresh mint leaves, basil leaves, or curry leaves as needed

Instructions

Prepare the Caramelized Apples

  • Peel, core, and cut each apple into small cubes.
  • Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon powder and stir to coat.
  • Cook over medium-low heat until the apples soften, about 10 minutes or so, stirring once in a while.
  • Once your apples are tender, remove the pan from the heat and let cool.

Prepare the Filling

  • Once cooled mix the caramelized apples with cream cheese and raisins. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge.

Prepare the Dough

  • Gather the ingredients; flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, egg, and butter.
  • Activate the yeast if using active dry yeast. Warm* the milk on the stove or in the microwave. * It should be just slightly warm to the touch and not hot otherwise it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. (Use about 1/2 of the milk). Let it sit there for about 10 minutes. It should be foamy and bubbly when it’s properly activated.
  • Whisk the eggs sightly. Melt the butter with the rest of the milk on the stove or in the microwave. Let cool. Stir together melted and cooled butter and eggs until just combined.
  • Place the flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, and yeast* in a large mixing bowl. *If you use instant yeast.Stir with a wooden spoon/whisk to mix all ingredients well.
  • Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture if using active dry yeast. Then slowly add the egg, butter & milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until incorporated scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • The dough will be soft and sticky. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and holds together in a dough ball.

Knead the Dough

  • The dough can then be kneaded by hand, or in a stand mixer with the dough hook.
  • This dough is very soft and sticky to start. As the gluten structure builds, it will become more elastic and less sticky. Try to avoid adding too much extra flour and try to work through the stickiness by kneading.
  • Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Bring together the ingredients using your hands.
  • Cover the dough with a plastic and then kitchen towel and let it rest for about 10 minutes. I found that resting the dough makes it easier to handle the dough.
  • And then start kneading the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Rest the dough (as well as your hands) once in a while covering it during the kneading process. Shape the dough into a ball.

First Proof

  • Lightly oil a bowl and place your dough in it. The oil will stop the dough from sticking to the sides as it proves. Cover with plastic wrap and clean kitchen towel. Keep it in a warm place (if cold climate) for about 1 hour until it doubles in size.
  • Once your dough has doubled, remove it to a lightly floured work surface and punch down it to deflate.Gather the edge to the center.Form the dough into a ball shape.

Shaping

  • Divide the dough ball into 8 roughly equal portions. The easiest way to do this is to first divide the dough into two equal pieces. You can use a scale if you want to be really exact with this. Do not pull or tear the dough. Use a knife to divide it.
  • Then divide each of the dough again into quarters. Form each piece into a ball.Leave the dough to bench rest for 10-15 minutes, covered so the dough will be easier to handle.
  • I used a muffin pan and then lined the cups with muffin liners. You can grease the cups without using the liners. The cup helps to keep the shape of the apple “taller”.
  • Take one dough, and flatten it slightly with your palm. Put one tablespoon of the filling in the center of the dough.Gather the edge to center and twist and pinch to seal. Make sure it’s well sealed so the filling won’t leak out.Place the seam side down, and roll it back and forth gently over the work surface to form a smooth, even round ball.Place the dough seam side down on a muffin liner. Repeat for all dough.

Second Proof

  • Spray or grease plastic wrap and place it over the buns sprayed side towards the buns. Cover them again with a clean kitchen towel, and let them proof for about 30-40 minutes or until puff up and lighter in a warm place. Don’t go by the time, just observe the dough.During the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bake

  • Make the egg wash by whisking the egg with milk.
  • After the dough has risen enough, brush each bun with the egg wash. Bake at 180°C for 15-20 mins until golden brown, rotating the pans about halfway through cooking, for even browning.

Cool and Garnish

  • Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack.
  • Break the bread/pocky stick into 2-inch pieces. Gently stick a piece on top of each bun. Once the buns have cooled down, gently place the fresh leaves next to the stem. I used fresh curry leaves, you can also use mint or basil leaves.
  • These buns are best served fresh on the same day! Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, if y

Notes

* You can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour
** You can use either one but if you use active dry yeast make sure to activate it before using. If you use instant yeast (fresh and active), you can add it to the dry ingredients without activating it.