Pineapple Bun (菠蘿包)

I have always enjoy Chinese style bakery buns for breakfast.  It then became a comfort home food for me when our family immigrated to Canada.  I remembered I was really happy to be able to buy these buns in Canada (even though they aren't that great in Edmonton), it gives a warm, fuzzy, comfort food feeling... a piece of home and heritage in a foreign place.

When I get older, now when I think of pineapple bun I remember Danny's happy face with his favourite pineapple bun with butter (菠蘿油) lol.  Though I never thought of making these buns myself.  The task seem so daunting!  Making bread is not an easy task!  With yeast doubling at the right room temperature, the lengthy waiting time, and finickiness of buns not being poofy and moist... the list goes on!  Especially I failed multiple times with making cinnamon buns and anything with yeast.  Kudos to Freddy for his adventurous personality to initiate the task and the most important piece of equipment - the stand mixer.  I'd like to thank Freddy here, his stand mixer has made many, many of my dreams come true.  Thank you Freddy!  Also Haley's extra warm room temperature (23oC) may have been the success to the buns!!  


Here it is!

 

Ingredients

yields a dozen very large buns

To make pineapple buns, you'll need:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast (not the instant one!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten

The topping for the pineapple buns is made separately using:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

 

Procedure

1. Mix together 1/2 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt
2. Melt the butter, then add oil and milk to the butter and warm it
3. Pour the butter/oil/milk mixture into the flour mixture
4. Add the eggs to the flour mixture, and stir well to combine. Then beat mixture for 3 minutes
5. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed
6. Dust the counter-top and knead the dough on it. Add dough little by little if it's too sticky.
7. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Let it double in size, which will take roughly 1.5 hours. While the dough is rising, prepare the pineapple bun topping following the recipe further below on this page).
8. After 1.5 hours, punch the dough down and let it rise again for another 1.5 hours
9. Divide the dough into 12 equally sized balls, then flatten them to round, flat buns. Place them on lightly greased baking sheets and cover with a slightly damp towel for another 45 minutes so that the dough can rise a bit more.
10. Take the prepared pineapple topping and roll it to a thickness of about 1/2 a cm
11. Brush the buns with a small amount of water, and place the pineapple topping on top of the buns. The water will help the topping stick to the buns.
12. Take a knife and lightly score the toppings with a criss-cross pattern, kind of like grill marks on a steak.
13. Lightly beat 1 egg yolk and brush the buns and toppings with it. The egg yolk will provide the buns with a nice rich yellow colour.
14. Bake the buns at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes on the middle rack.

Pineapple Topping Procedure:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy
2. Add egg yolk, baking soda, and milk together, and mix well.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter mixture, and mix by hand until it's smooth and not sticky. Be careful not to manipulate it too much as it will form gluten.
4. Wrap the topping in plastic and refrigerate it for an hour and a half minimum.
   

Reciped adapted from Homemade Chinese

Thoughts

 

1. The pineapple buns are so delicious!!! I'm so proud of the team that made it happen! The recipe took like 7-8 hours to complete but the result is so WORTH it.
2. I would use more beaten egg yolks to brush the pineapple topping, it wasn't quite yellow enough.
3. I would probably double the pineapple topping next time, I find the topping to bun ratio not high enough.
4. Serve with butter inside the bun is the best way!!

Le cochon dingue

Le cochon dingue
46, boulevard Champlain
Québec (Québec) G1K 4H5
http://www.cochondingue.com/en/home.html?lang=EN

Le cochon dingue, literally means crazy pig, is located in the Petit Champlain district also.  With the look and feel of a real French bistro, its friendly atmosphere and its ultra tasty menu with a European flair, it quickly become the go-to-place for breakfast.  We actually came to this restaurant twice.  Once for breakfast, and because we like it so much, again for lunch before we leave Quebec City.

Breakfast:

Their website claims they "serve the best coffee, old-fashion hot chocolate made with Belgian chocolate, your choice of toast, with homemade raspberry-strawberry jam or apple butter with a sincere morning smile"  And I totally agree with that line! Keep in mind, everything on their breakfast menu includes a cup of expresso, or a bowl of cafe au lait (French word for latte), or a pot of old fashioned hot chocolate. Sweet deal!

Bowl of cafe au lait and old fashioned hot chocolate

I ordered a 2 eggs benedict with ham and poached egg on toasted English muffin and Hollandaise sauce.  The meal is also served with homefries, choice of toast, I picked raspberry-strawberry jam, and comes with a mango yogurt to finish it off ($14.50).  And this price includes my old-fashioned hot chocolate.

Charles ordered a sunny side up fried egg with sauteed mushrooms, bacon, onions, and béchamel  sauce. Also served with home fries, choice of toaste, he picked apple butter, and also has the mango yogurt.  ($12.95) and this includes the giant bowl of cafe au lait (or latte). Note béchamel sauce is a classic white sauce made from butter, flour, and milk; it is a classic base for many sauces.

Lunch:

Because breakfast was so amazing, we came for lunch before leaving Quebec City.

I ordered a set lunch from the daily menu (it changes). It is a pulled duck linguine pasta, it comes with a soup or salad, and coffee or tea ($11.95).  A very good deal I think.  I chose soup, and that day's daily soup is cream of broccoli.  I enjoyed the pasta very much.  It is different than my usual Italian style of pasta.  It is more stir fry in olive oil and lots of herbs and duck.  Very interesting and delicious.

Cream of Broccoli 

Pulled duck Linguine

 Charles ordered the famous Cochon Dingue Seafood Pot Pie ($21.95), it has lobster, crab, shrimps, scallops, salmon, diced potatoes in a creamy sauce and served with a salad. We shared both dishes, and there are at least 2-3 pieces of each item listed so that we both can try each thing. Amazing good. Crispy pastry is pretty awesome too.  Wish I had room to order dessert before we head out =(

Seafood Pot Pie

Overall impression is very very good. A classic European bistro.  Great for casual dining without sacrificing food quality or price! Serving daily fresh food done well! Also has unlimited bread upon request.

P.S. a night view of the restaurant, so prettty!

Restaurant at night

Over Easy Breakfast Co.

Over Easy Breakfast Co.
824 Edmonton Trail, North East
Calgary, AB T2E 3J6
Tel: 403.278.EGGS (3447)
http://eatoeb.com/

What a cute little breakfast joint!  Love, love, love everything about the decor - from the little egg-like lights with overeasy written on them, to the blackboard & chalk drawings, and the lovely expression "Love Eat Live Dream".  All their eggs are produced from their own barn - free-run, dark yolk, omega-3 eggs.  Just remember to come early, the wait will be at least 30 min+.  

Benny upstream……$13.99 ****
2 poached eggs, fresh Organic spinach, smoked Steelhead salmon served on a sour dough English muffin, brown butter Hollandaise, herb potatoes & fresh fruit.
All our potatoes are cooked in Organic duck fat.

THE SOUL ‘N A BOWL ™....$11.95 ****
Two poached eggs, herb potatoes, Quebec cheese curds, slow cooked bacon lardons & brown butter hollandaise

French toast trifle.....$13.95 *****
Meyer lemon curd, seasonal fresh berries, pistachios & torched Swiss Meringue

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Yum! Natasha, Zoey and I went to hand pick some strawberries in the outskirts of the city. It was one of those long lost summer days that brings me ample of memories of junior high days. A bit care free and a bit too much fun I would say, but totally worth the day off work.

Here are the pictures of our hand picked strawberries.

As soon as we got home, we washed a basket-full of these hand picked strawberries and ate them immediately. They were by far the most delicious strawberries I have ever tasted. Partly because they are so full of strawberry flavour and oooh sooo sweet. I often turn away from strawberries due to their sourness in the store-bought ones these days. But these are so worth the work to hand picked them. So what to do with our 5 pounds of strawberries? We looked up two amazinging mouth-watering recipes, a strawberry stuffed french toast and strawberry cream cheese tart, and the remaining of the day is spend baking these delicious goodies.

First up the strawberry stuffed french toast.

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
2 tbsp. sugar
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

For the toast:
4 thick slices bread, such as challah or soft Italian bread
1 large egg
¾ cup milk
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
Unsalted butter

Maple syrup, powdered sugar and additional fresh strawberries for serving

Procedure:

1. To make the filling, combine the sliced strawberries and sugar in a medium bowl.  Mix well and set aside to macerate for about 15 minutes.  Stir in the cream cheese until well blended.

2. To prepare the toast, carefully slice a pocket into the center of each slice of bread, taking care not to cut all the way through to the other side.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  In a shallow baking dish or pie plate, whisk together the egg and milk.  Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla.  Stir in the flour, cinnamon and salt and whisk until smooth.  Fill the pocket of each slice of bread with some of the filling mixture.  One or two at a time, place the filled slices of bread in the egg mixture, soaking about 30-40 seconds per side.  Remove the bread and allow the excess batter to drip off.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining bread slices.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the heated skillet and swirl to coat.  Add the filled slices of toast to the skillet in a single layer.  Cook until light golden brown and crisp, about 1-2 minutes per side.  Repeat with the remaining slices of bread, adding more butter to the skillet as needed.  Serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh strawberries as desired.

Heavily Adapted from Annie's Eats

Thoughts:
1. These are soo delicious I have no complaints about them. The only thing I might change is the type of bread we used. I think it'll work well with thick slices of toast as well.
2. I'd watch for how long the cream cheese are cooked for. Because cream cheese turn a bit sour when heated, which is a turn off for me.