Old School Iced Buns

Step 1

Add the flour and water into a pot. Mix these together then put this pot over medium-low heat.

Step 2

Keep heating this, whiles constantly stirring, until the mixture thickens. This only takes a few seconds so don't walk away from it.

Step 3

Leave this mixture in the fridge to cool for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Add all the ingredients into a bowl, except the butter. Also don't forget to add in the tangzhong you just made.

Step 5

Mix these together until a dough forms, then add in the butter and knead this for 8 minutes. This will be a sticky dough, don't be alarmed.

Step 6

Add this dough into a greased bowl, cover it and leave it to rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume. This should take 1-2 hours.

Step 7

You could also just leave the dough inside the fridge overnight and then carry on the next day if you wanted too.

Step 8

Once the dough has risen, divide it into 5 pieces and start making the shapes. Again, this is a sticky dough so add quite a bit of flour onto your surface.

Step 9

Create hot dog bun shapes by rolling the dough between your hands. You can do whatever size you want, mine were around 12cm long.

Step 10

Add these onto a baking paper lined tray, leaving about a 2cm gap between them. You want these to end up touching each other after they have rested and been baked, so don't place them too far apart.

Step 11

Gently lay some cling film over these, then leave them to rest, in a warm place, for about 40 minutes. Once there is about 10 minutes left, pre-heat your over to 180c/350f.

Step 12

They won't double in size, they will just look slightly puffier and if you gently press them they should feel softer than before.

Step 13

Once they have rested and your oven is pre-heated, they are ready to be baked.

Step 14

Brush the top of them with a beaten egg then bake them for 20 minutes. Then once they have baked and are still hot, brush the top of them with some melted butter.

Step 15

Brushing them with the egg and then the butter are both optional, I just like to do it because it creates a more golden and shiny crust.

Step 16

Add the icing sugar into a bowl. Add a tablespoon of hot water to this and mix. Keep doing this until you get a thick icing.

Step 17

Once the buns have cooled, dip them into the icing, let them set for about 10 minutes and then you are done, enjoy!