Caramellised Shallots, Provolone & Mayo Buns

One of the things I absolutely adored doing while living in Japan was visiting bread shops (my favourite was Pompadour) and taking home bags of perfectly fluffy buns filled with creamy custard, and crunchy rolls laden with diced cheese and bacon. If you’ve visited Bread Top or BreadTalk in the eastern States or Utopia here in Perth, you’ll be familiar with the style of bread products favoured in Asian countries; petite, highly refined, filled buns that would send carb-freaks into a full head spin.

One of my Japanese cooking magazines had a recipe for a basic white bun (it’s basically a pain au lait) recipe so I thought I’d give it a whirl, concocting my own unique topping. I caramellised some shallots with butter and a dash of maple syrup to boost the flavour. I still had a good chunk of provolone cheese left from the day I raided Lopresti & Son so I diced some up into small squares (not too small, say just shy of 1cm square cubes) to finish off the buns.

Onion and cheese are hardly a surprise combination but a secret ingredient sends the two right off up to a new level; Japanese ‘Kewpie’ mayonnaise. Actually, Kewpie is hardly a secret ingredient in the Asian bread making world but I suspect its use in a bread recipe may raise some eyebrows elsewhere. However, please take my word for it; Kewpie mayo rocks and everyone should keep some stocked in their fridge! I should also add here that you should not attempt to use any mayo with added sugar. If you can’t get hold of Kewpie, use Best Foods or Thomy style mayo. Please!

Once my buns proved, I gently dug a small hole in the centre of the dough and squeezed about a teaspoon of mayonnaise inside. I then put about a tablespoon of the craramellised shallots on top and five cubes of provolone. Ready for a quick 10 minute bake.

I’m not one to blow my own trumpet but my buns were awesome!! The shallots were gorgeously sweet but kept in check by the provolone’s saltiness. In between those two champions, the Kewpie mayo added a mild tang and creaminess. The buns were naturally best straight out of the oven but they proved to be a fantastic snack the next day either cold or warmed gently in the oven. I’ll be making these again soon!

Caramellised Shallots, Provolone & Mayo Buns

200g plain flour (I used bread-making flour)

30g butter

Page 1 of 2 | Next page