pat bbang {red bean cinnamon cardamom buns}

why hellooOoo!

i’ve been just about everywhere but here in the past few weeks. i flew from coast to coast to be with family, visited a few farms upstate to do the most quintessential fall activities (can’t wait to share!!!), and even made a trip abroad to lands familiar and completely new to me. it’s been quite a whirlwind and there’s no doubt that along with the changing leaves and weather, life at large has also taken new shapes, twists, and patterns as well.

for one, my brother, austey-poo aka @virtuousheretic, is currently en-route to new york to join me as the second member of the han clan to reside on the east coast. it’s been four long years since i’ve lived with family in town so if you can’t tell by now, i’m seriously stoked for all the fun mems we’ll be making together. for now, he’ll be couch surfing on my beautiful blue chesterfield couch that i scored on craigslist whilst he makes his wildest dreams come true. austin is a filmmaker/photographer so i’ll be bartering that couch for his talent….score!

in other exciting news (jk), i have spent the last three days nursing myself back to health after catching a cold and thus forced myself to stay home. what does one do to not go stir crazy? fix a recipe. i wanted to make a korean pastry (pat bbang) which translates to sweet red bean bread and tie it with one of my favorite kinds of morning buns, kanelbullars, which are swedish cinnamon cardamom buns. i attempted this guy a few weeks back but the dough and filling wasn’t *quite right*. the dough was a bit tough and the filling was too soft the first round so i had to get it right the second time around. this time, the dough was flooofy and soft on the inside and the outside has a nice crackle from the sugar. the filling was also luxuriously buttery, sweet, flavorful, and nutty.

winter is coming and i know that you probably will be spending more time indoors because who wants to be outside in the flippin’ cold? when netflix and naps become exhausted options and you’re in for a fun challenge, flip open to this page, give this recipe a try, and fill your home with the sweet aromas from these buns cooking in your oven. enjoy them with hot black coffee on these seemingly dreary mornings or even stash seven away in your lover’s bag to enjoy each day of the week while you’re away ;)

xo, christine

pat bbang {red bean cinnamon cardamom buns}

ingredients

yeast mixture

1 cup warm oat milk

1 tablespoon cane sugar

2 tsp dry active yeast

dry ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cane sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

3 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cardamom

wet ingredients

2 eggs room temp

1/2 cup olive oil + 1 tbs for bowl

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1/2 orange

filling

2/3 cup red bean paste

1/3 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick of cold but pliable butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

topping

1 beaten egg + 1 tbs water

1/4 cup cane sugar

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

remaining zest of orange

notes

1. in a small bowl, pour in warm oat milk, dissolve cane sugar, and pour in yeast and stir until dissolved. set aside, but in 5-6 minutes, the yeast should begin to bubble a layer of foam up top. in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cane sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. in a medium sized bowl, add eggs, 1/2 cup olive oil, honey, vanilla extract, and orange zest. whisk together until an even consistency.

2. pour in yeast and egg mixture into dry ingredients. using the hook attachment to your stand mixer or hand mixer, mix for 10-12 minutes or until the dough is uniformed and sticky. form into a ball, and toss in a large oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap, and set aside on the counter for 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

3. in a small medium sized mixing bowl, combine filling ingredients (butter, red bean paste, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom) until evenly mixed into a paste. set aside.

4. dust a working surface with a rolling pin and roll dough out into a rectangle measuring 21 (length) x12 (width) inches and roughly 3/4 cm in height. using a rubber spatula, pour filling paste out into quarter sections across the rolled out dough and spread evenly across.

5. since the dough lengthwise is 21 inches, mark off into three 7-inch sections. fold the bottom edge over the middle section to the 14-inch mark and then fold the top edge over to the bottom to make a roll fold. feel free to reapply flour to working surface to ensure that the dough doesn’t stick. with the dough roll now being 12x7 inches, cut 12 1-inch strips using a pizza roller or a sharp knife.

6. prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. take one dough strip, give it a twist from both ends, pinch one side using your thumb and index finger, loop it around your middle finger, then around your ring finger and tuck the end under to form a knot. repeat with remaining strips and place on baking sheet separating each with at least 1.5 inches between. cover and let dough puff up for 1.5 hours on the counter (i like to place in the dishwasher for during the proofing stage).

7. heat oven to 350 degrees, brush rolls with eggwash, dust with sugar, sprinkle sesame seeds and zest, and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops turn golden brown. enjoy!