We are all familiar with the French baguette, the traditional New England anadama bread, or sourdough bread. But when talking about breads, any Filipinos will think of the round, soft, sugary, and rich ensaymada bread.
So for the new week, we want to take us to the new cultural cuisine in Philippine. Let’s meet Winnie Wong aka@wins330 and her deliciousMatcha Ensaymada Bread.
Winnie is a pastry chef and baker from Manila, Philippines. She loves to eat, drink wine, travel, and make pastries and bread. She is currently obsessed with matcha and yoga. Visit Winnie and her creations at herinstagram!
About Winnie’s recipe, this matcha creation is inspired from the specialty bread from the Philippines has its origins from the Spanish colonial period. Filipinos have since made it their own and it is now a popular bread beloved by all. While it takes time and a little bit of extra effort to make, one bite into this buttery, pillowy bread and you know it was all worth it!
The greatest part of these breads is the matcha twist to them. Matcha green tea surprisingly goes well with these Filipino breads. It adds the subtle yet lingering sweetness to the pastries. The process can be quite a challenge but isn’t it the part of fun? Let’s start mixing!
Matcha Ensaymada Bread
Ingredients
Ensaymada dough
- 650 ml milk, room temperature
- 18g yeast
- 10g salt
- 100g sugar
- 150g eggs
- 120g unsalted butter
- 700g bread flour
- 300g all-purpose flour
Matcha buttercream
- 225g butter
- 80g shortening
- 2 tbsp matcha powder
- 300g confectioner sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 150g cheddar cheese, grated for topping
Method
Matcha buttercream
- Sift the confectioner’s sugar, set aside.
- Using a paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and matcha.
- Add in all the sugar slowly as the paddle moves.
- Add the milk at the end to adjust the consistency of the buttercream.
Ensaymada dough
-
Brush each ensaymada mold (or wide muffin molds) with a good amount of butter. Preheat your oven to 175oC.
- Sift bread flour and all-purpose flour together.
- Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the milk (not cold).
- Beat all ingredients except for the butter in a stand mixer at medium speed (using hook attachment) for about 8 mins or until the dough develops enough elasticity.
- Add in the butter until fully incorporated.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and leave to proof until double in volume (40 mins- 1h).
- Once the dough has doubled in volume, de-gas and divide into 70g pieces.
- Take each piece and flatten into a rectangular shape on the slightly buttered work surface.
- Roll up to form a cylinder and start twirling it to form a spiral
- Place all the spiral pieces in pre-buttered molds.
- Proof for about 40 mins to an hour. Check if the bread is ready to bake by gently pushing your finger into the dough; if it rises back just a bit, then it is ready for the oven.
- Bake for 10 mins until just lightly colored.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Once they are cooled down enough, use the back of a spoon to spread the buttercream over each one. Finish by topping with grated cheese. Enjoy!
Tada! How cool and pretty are these green Ensaymada breads. Impress your friends and family with these mouthwatering Matcha Ensaymada Breads for the tea time.
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