Soft and Chewy Rice Morning Buns
Chewy Rice Flour Morning Bun Recipe
Introducing delightfully soft and chewy rice morning buns. Enjoy the wonderfully soft texture and subtle sweetness of these homemade rice buns, a healthy alternative made without additives.
Morning Bun Dough Ingredients
- 250g High-gluten Rice Flour (using ‘LoveMi’ brand)
- 150g Milk (cold)
- 8g Dry Yeast
- 5g Salt
- 40g Honey Powder (made from honey; if using regular sugar, reduce to 20g)
- 20g Grapeseed Oil
- 1 Egg (cold)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Here are the ingredients for today’s rice morning buns. I missed mentioning the egg in the recipe list! I’ve used honey powder made from honey, but if you’re using regular sugar, please reduce the amount to 20g. It’s best to have all your ingredients cold for a better dough texture.
Step 2
In a large bowl, place the high-gluten rice flour. Make three separate wells in the flour, and add the honey powder in one, salt in another, and dry yeast in the third. Ensure they don’t touch each other initially. Cover the yeast with a little flour. This prevents the salt from directly affecting the yeast’s activity. Gently mix the flour to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Step 3
We’ll be using a bread maker or a stand mixer for kneading the dough. First, add the cold milk and the cold egg to the bottom of the bread maker bowl. Then, pour in the prepared rice flour mixture over the liquids. It’s crucial for the rice flour to be cold when kneading to achieve the best bread texture. If possible, keep the milk and egg chilled as well. Start the kneading process with the bread maker lid open.
Step 4
Keeping the bread maker lid open allows the heat generated during kneading to dissipate. Rice flour dough benefits from being kneaded at a cooler temperature for a chewier and better texture. Once the dough starts to come together, add the grapeseed oil and continue kneading. An important tip for rice flour dough is to knead it slightly less than you would wheat flour dough. Over-kneading can make the bread gummy.
Step 5
Unlike older types of rice flour, this ‘LoveMi’ brand rice flour produces a very smooth and supple dough. Previously, rice flour doughs often had a rough surface and broke easily. However, this flour behaves just like wheat flour, resulting in a beautifully smooth dough. This makes preparing rice bread dough much easier.
Step 6
The total weight of the finished dough was 511g. Divide this dough into 10 equal portions, each weighing about 50-51g. Roll each portion into a smooth ball. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let them rest for 15 minutes for their intermediate proof (bench rest). This allows the gluten to relax, making shaping easier.
Step 7
After the intermediate proof, place the dough balls into your morning bun molds (like angel food cake molds), spacing them appropriately. Then, allow the dough to proof again within the molds until it has visibly puffed up and is ready for baking. One of the great advantages of rice bread is that it often skips the first proofing stage required for wheat bread, significantly shortening the overall baking time.
Step 8
I use my microwave as a makeshift proofing box. Fill a cup with about 1/5 water and microwave it for 2 minutes. This creates a warm, steamy environment perfect for dough proofing. Place the dough-filled molds inside the warm, humid microwave and let them proof for about 40 minutes. They will puff up beautifully due to the controlled moisture and warmth, similar to a professional proofer. The enclosed space also helps maintain the ideal proofing conditions.
Step 9
After exactly 40 minutes of proofing in the microwave, I took the dough out, and they had puffed up wonderfully! They look plump and inviting, ready for baking.
Step 10
Now it’s time to bake! Place the buns in a convection oven preheated to 190°C (375°F) and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes. The exact baking time may vary depending on your oven model, so keep an eye on the color. Bake until the tops are golden brown.
Step 11
As you can see, the buns closer to the oven door have a deeper color. I should have rotated the pan halfway through baking for more even browning, but I forgot this time. To give them a nice sheen, I lightly brushed the tops with some grapeseed oil. A helpful tip for baking proofed rice bread is to avoid opening the oven door too frequently during baking, as temperature fluctuations can affect the final texture.
