Hawaiian Buns - 3 rises recipe

 I have used this recipe from KingArthurBaking.com I have used the blog posted on that site that has more detailed instructions but for the forming and rise I have followed this YouTube video and I got very good results. The Buns were really good and raised well. You need a lot of patience to let the dough rise properly since all the sweetness slow the rise. You can see the results were amazing though. 

I did rise the dough 3 times and followed some of the directions from this video from Savor Easy youtube channel. I did not use that recipe though do I can not tell you what happens if you do follow the same recipe, sorry. 

I made 2 batches, the first one I have replaced the Potato Flour by regular flour and used only unbleached sugar but no brown sugar. The results were quite good. For the second batch I have used brown sugar (1/3 of the total sugar amount) and used a mashed potato mix to in place of the potato flour. The results were even better, I assume because of the potato flour.   

Next time I want to try, other type of rolls like this Hokkaido Milk Bun or this Hawaiian Bun recipe using a technic called yu-dane (Japanese: 湯種, romanized: yu-dane) like here on this Shokupan recipe from ChopSticksChronicles site. (Thank you Shikoko-san!) The technic was used to create a similar technic called tangzhong (Chinese: 湯種; pinyin: tāngzhǒng) or Tangzhong Method (also called water roux, tang zhong or just tangzhong) I just want to try and see if it makes a big difference. 

First Batch:

Second Batch: 

Ingredients (for 15 buns of around 55grams each)

Nutricional info here! 

Sponge

• 1/4 cup (30g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast, SAF Gold instant yeast preferred
• 2 tablespoons (28g) water

Dough

• 1/2 cup (113g) pineapple juice, canned
• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (71g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, white reserved
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups (330g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons (21g) potato flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (8g) salt

Instructions

• For the sponge: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In the bowl of your stand mixer or the bucket of your bread machine, combine the sponge ingredients. Allow the sponge to rest for 15 minutes.
• Add the pineapple juice, butter, brown sugar, eggs and yolk, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
• Whisk together the remaining flour, potato flour, and salt before adding to the liquid ingredients.
• Mix and knead until the dough is cohesive and smooth; it'll be very sticky at first. If you're using a stand mixer, beat with the flat beater for about 3 minutes at medium-high speed; then scrape the dough into the center of the bowl, switch to the dough hook, and knead for about 5 minutes at medium speed. 
• It may have formed a very soft ball, but will probably still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If you're using a bread machine, simply let it go through its entire cycle. If you find the dough isn't coming together, add a tablespoon or two of flour.
• Lightly grease the mixing bowl or a large (8-cup) measure; round the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl or measure. Cover, and let rise until very puffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (My notes: this first rise did not take that long, probably because the dough is warm after all the beating!)  If you're using a bread machine and the dough hasn't doubled in size when the cycle is complete, simply let it rest in the machine for another 30 to 60 minutes.
• Gently deflate the dough. Measure the weight, divide by the number of buns you want and calculate the weight for each ball, I divided in 15, for a 3x5 matrix and each ball had around 55-57 grams. Round each piece into a smooth ball. For a second rise, space the buns in a pan covered with little flour or oil. Let it rise for 15-30 minutes.
•  Grease a 9" x 13" pan. (mine was a glass oven safe pirex) I used parchment paper instead of grease. 
• Once gain, gently deflate each dough ball by flattening it on an oiled plastic cutting board. Make it into a ball again and this time place it on the pirex, that will go to oven. 
• Tent the dough gently with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in the pan for 1 hour, until it's nicely puffy. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Wait for the last rise (this took almost 1 hour) see below: 

• Mix the reserved egg white with 1 tablespoon cold water, and brush some onto the surface of the rolls; this will give them a satiny crust.

• I have a convex oven, so I lowered the temperature to 340F and baked the rolls for 10-15 minutes and since the top color looked good, I tested the dough with a toothpick. The original recipe tell you to bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 190°F on a digital thermometer.
• Remove the rolls from the oven, and after a few minutes, turn them out onto a cooling rack.
• Serve warm. Store leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

1. 1. Tips from King Artur Bakers

      1. This is a very wet dough, and can be tricky to handle. If you're having difficulty, we suggest lightly oiling your hands and counter before attempting to roll out the buns.
      2. Sweet breads can be agonizingly slow risers. Why? Because sugar attracts water, and when it's in bread dough, it pulls water away from yeast — leaving the yeast thirsty and unable to grow. If you're using regular yeast not formulated for sweet dough, you may find the rising time for these rolls will be longer by 30 minutes or more for each rise.
      3. If you want to use fresh pineapple juice: microwave the juice for 2 minutes until it reaches 200°F and allow to cool to lukewarm before using. The process of heating will kill any enzymes in the juice, which would otherwise destroy the gluten.
      4. To make hamburger-sized buns, prepare the dough according to the recipe instructions, and after the rise divide it into six equal pieces. Round each piece into a smooth ball, and place them into the lightly-greased wells of a hamburger bun pan, flattening them gently. Let the buns rise for an hour, until they fill the wells and are nicely puffy, then brush the rolls with the egg wash, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes until they're a deep golden brown.