Tram’s Table

Pandan coconut buns

Soft, faintly green, and gone by the afternoon. A cooked-flour starter is what keeps them tender.

Prep
50 min
Bake
20 min
Total
4 hrs
Makes
9 buns
Difficulty
Moderate

Ingredients

  • 250 g bread flour
  • 25 g flour and 125 g water, for the cooked starter
  • 120 g coconut milk
  • 40 g sugar
  • 30 g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 5 g instant yeast
  • 4 g salt
  • Pandan, steeped or extract

Method

  1. Whisk the 25 g flour into the 125 g water and cook gently until it thickens to a paste. Cool completely.

  2. Mix everything except the butter until it comes together, then add the butter and knead until smooth and elastic.

  3. Rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

  4. Divide into nine, shape into rounds, and arrange in a square tin so they touch.

  5. Rise again for 45 minutes, then bake at 175C for 20 minutes until barely golden.

  6. Brush with butter while hot.

Tram’s notes

Steep real pandan leaves if you can find them. Bottled extract works, but use it sparingly or the colour turns synthetic.

Substitutions

Whole milk can replace the coconut milk. The buns will be softer and less fragrant.