Taro Swirl Bread

i feel accomplished. i made something chinese. woot! the problem with this recipe was that it was in metric, which made me hate america today. so these are approximate measurements with the help of smittenkitchen's converter and hideyo's dimensional analysis.

judgment: it was delicious, but rich. you will die of carbs on one slice. make sure to have it with tea!

Taro Swirl Bread
1 loaf

adapted from pureenjoyment.blogspot.com

For the yam paste:
12 oz taro
150 mL water
1/4-1/3 c sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/3 c flour + 40 mL water

For the bread dough:
2.5 heaping c flour
1/8 c milk powder
1/8 c sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp active yeast
1 egg
2 Tb butter
170-180 mL warm water

To make yam paste:
1. Mix flour and 40 mL water until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
2. Steam chopped taro chunks until soft throughout. Blend with 150 mL water until smooth.
3. Mix taro blend with flour mixture in nonstick pan over medium low heat until well blended. Add sugar in 3 separate dumps.
4. Cook mixture for 1 hour, or until it makes a superthick paste that does not easily fall off the spoon.
5. Let cool and then wrap in plastic wrap in a 5"x7" rectangle and refrigerate for at least 1 hr or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

To make the bread:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in stand mixer.
2. Add egg and warm water. Mix until blended. Switch to dough hook.
3. Mix on medium speed until a smooth and elastic ball of dough forms. It should pull away easily from the sides. Add more water or flour as needed.
4. Add butter last and mix until incorporated, about 10 minutes. You can knead by hand a little more if the dough doesn't feel elastic enough.
5. Form a round and place in lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 1.5-2 hrs in warm, draft-free place.

To assemble bread:
1. Gentle deflate dough and roll out into 10x18 rectangle.
2. Place yam paste square in center of dough and gather edges of dough around the paste. It should cover the paste completely.
3. Roll it out into a 10x18 rectangle. Fold into thirds and roll out again. Repeat this a second and third time (depending on how many swirls you want). Leave the dough to rest 10 minutes between rolls.
4. Roll out into a longer skinny rectangle (slightly larger than the size of your lightly oiled oaf pan. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, score the dough down the center, leaving it attached on one end.
5. To shape, twist each log in opposite directions, being careful not to let the filling squish out. Wrap the twisted logs around each other and place into lightly oiled loaf pan, tucking the unattached end underneath the loaf. Cover and let rise for another 1-1.5 hours.


Once the loaf has doubled in size, bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes. Spraying the top with baking spray, or doing a milk or egg wash will help the loaf develop its color.


Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then pop it out onto a cooling rack so it doesn't get soggy.

It gets sticky so eat it fast!