Matcha Pineapple Buns

Instructions

Tangzhong

1. Mix the 2 tbsp of boiling water, 3 tbsp of  bread flour, and 1/2 tbsp of matcha powder together until it forms a paste like consistency

Bread Dough

1. In a small bowl add in the milk, water, and egg and mix together
2. In a large bowl add in the sugar, bread flour, cake flour, matcha powder, and yeast and then mix
3. Pour the wet ingredients from the small bowl into the large bowl and also pour all of the tangzhong mixture into the large bowl as well. Then mix until just combined.
4. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes
5. Then add in the salt and knead the dough until it is smooth and stretchy (about 15 minutes if by hand)
6. Slowly incorporate the cubed butter, one piece at a time, into your dough. Ensure that the butter is fully incorporated into the dough before adding in the next piece
7. You'll want to continue kneading the butter and dough together until all of the butter is fully incorporated and you're able to stretch the dough thin enough so that you can just barely see through it!
8. At this point the dough may still be a bit sticky and that's alright, but if it's too sticky to easily handle then add some more bread flour and knead for an additional 2-3 minutes until that is fully incorporated
9. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to proof for an hour (or until the dough has doubled in size)
10. Once done proofing, punch down the dough a bit and transfer to a floured surface
11. Portion out the dough into 12 equal sized portions and form round balls out of them
12. Leave these dough balls to proof (covered with plastic wrap) for another hour and start to make the cookie topping

Cooking Topping

1. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft and creamy
2. Add the sugar in 2 batches, ensuring that it is equally mixed in each time
3. Add in the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until combined
4. In a small bowl mix together the all purpose flour, baking powder, and matcha powder
5. In three parts, slowly sift in the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until thoroughly combined each time
6. Once the dough has come together, gather it into a ball and leave it in the fridge while the bread is proofing (remove from the fridge at least 10 minutes before the bread dough is done proofing)

Assembly

1. Once the bread dough is done proofing, preheat the oven to 350F
2. Remove the cookie topping from the fridge and roll it out into 1/8th inch thickness and cut into circles that are just slightly smaller than the dough balls themselves (you don't want the cookie topping to be too much larger than the dough since it'll burn if it touches the bottom of the pan)
3. Place the cookie topping on top of each of the dough balls
4. Score the topping with a knife by cutting a criss cross pattern onto it
5. Mix together the egg and milk in a bowl
6. Brush the egg wash over the cookie topping
7. Bake the buns in the oven for 30 minutes (remove after 15 minutes and brush another round of egg wash onto the topping)
8. Remove once done and enjoy!