Makes 12

Ingredients

Bread Buns

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 270ml whole milk
• 10g fine sea salt
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus one for egg wash
• 100g unsalted butter

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tbsp double cream
• pinch fine sea salt

Steam Baked Eggs

Serves 6

• 8 large eggs
• 150ml whole milk
• 5g fine sea salt

Method

Bread Dough

1. To make the bread dough, we first need to make the tangzhong paste. Add 40g of the flour and 160ml of the milk to a small saucepan and place over a low/medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to a thick, gluey paste. Scrape into a jug and pour over the remaining milk. Place into the fridge until cool.
   
   
2. Add the remaining flour, salt, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly, just until everything is combined. Pour in the milk mixture and the two eggs. With the dough hook attached, knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes or until a strong elastic dough is formed. The dough should be smooth and elastic, forming a ball that is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. With the mixer still running, add the butter and knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is once again nice and strong, no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. This can take as much as another 10 minutes.
   
   
3.  Remove the dough from the mixer and form into a ball and then place, seam side down, into a lightly greased bowl. Cover and place into your ‘7000 series’ AEG oven, set to ‘Dough Prove’ mode, for about an 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.

5. Tip the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, then divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a neat ball. Place the balls, seam side down. onto the prepared baking trays, cover lightly with a damp kitchen towel or clingfilm, and set aside until the buns have doubled in size, about an hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 200ºC, on ‘Hot Air, Bottom & Steam’ mode, filling the ovens reservoir with water.

7. For the egg wash, beat the yolk, cream and salt together until uniform.

8. Just before baking, brush the buns with the egg wash. Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then open the door to release the steam and switch to ‘hot air’ mode and bake for a further 7-10 minutes or until the buns are golden. Remove and set aside to cool to room temperature.

9. Preheat the oven to 130ºC on ‘Low Steam’ mode, topping up the ovens reservoir with water if needed.

10. Lightly grease an 8-inch square cake pan and line with parchment. To do this, I line the pan with two strips of parchment so that the base and sides are fully lined, and the excess parchment hangs over the side of the pan. Lining the pan this way means once baked, the eggs can be lifted from the pan using the parchment as a sling.

11. In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, and salt, then whisk together to combine. Pour the eggs into the prepared pan and transfer to the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the eggs are set, with the barest wobble in the centre of the pan. Remove and set aside to cool for a few minutes, then carefully lift from the pan. The eggs need to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before removing them from the pan; otherwise, they’ll fall apart.