Soft Pandan Raisin Bread
This soft pandan loaf, whether dotted with raisins or not, is one of the best smelling bread in my books! A slice of this either eaten plain or with a dollop of kaya makes the most delectable breakfast.
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Keyword: Baking, Bread, Homemade Bread, Pandan, Pandan Bread, Roti, Thermomix
Servings: 1 x 450g loaf
(A) Pandan Juice
- 160 ml water
- 10-15 pandan leaves
(B) Sponge Dough
- 200 g high protein bread flour
- 1¼ tsp instant yeast
- 20 g milk powder
- 25 g egg lightly beaten
- 100 g pandan juice from (A)
(C) Main Dough
- 65 g high protein bread flour
- 45 g castor sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 27 g pandan juice from (A)
- 30 g unsalted butter softened at room temperature
(D) Raisins & Sugar Topping - Optional
- 50 g raisins see notes below
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Pandan Juice
CONVENTIONAL: Blend pandan leaves (cleaned & cut up into 1-inch sized pieces) with water then strain out juice, disposing the pulp.
THERMOMIX: Add 160g of water into the TM bowl and insert a bunch of pandan leaves through the hole in the lid, blitz for 1 min/Spd 10. Continue adding pandan leaves in batches until all are used up. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and lid, then blitz for another 1 min/Spd 10. Strain the juice, and dispose the pulp.
You may refer to this post for further information on homemade pandan juice.
Sponge Dough
CONVENTIONAL: Mix together all ingredients from (B) in a clean bowl using a spatula/spoon until combined. It will seem a tad dry, but don’t worry. Cover with cling wrap, let proof for 1 hour.
THERMOMIX: Place all ingredients from (B) into mixing bowl – mix for 30secs/Sp3. Let rest inside bowl for an hour.
Main Dough
CONVENTIONAL: If using bread maker, put in sponge dough from (B) with all other ingredients from (C) except butter, starting with wet ingredients at the bottom followed by dry ingredients. Select dough mode then let knead for 3-4 minutes until ingredients come together with lid closed. Add in butter and knead a further 5-6 minutes with lid open and then stop the machine. Then shut the lid and restart dough mode again, this time until kneading cycle is complete. This should add up to 25 of knead time. If you're adding raisins, do so at the last 3-4 minutes before dough cycle completes.
THERMOMIX: Add in all ingredients from (C) except butter and knead for 1.5 minutes. Add butter and knead a further 4 minutes.If you're adding raisins, you'd do so now. Mix for 20secs/Sp3 to fully incorporate raisins into dough.
Shaping Dough
Transfer dough to lightly floured worktop. Shape dough into a round ball and let rest, covered with a towel for 10-15 mins.
Using a rolling pin, flatten out dough to a rough rectangle. Fold in both ends of the vertical side to meet in the middle. Gently flatten dough with rolling pin bout 1.5cm thick, then swiss roll it to form a log. Seal edges then place seam side down in a 8x4x4” bread loaf pan or equivalent.
Use cling wrap or a damp towel to cover pan. Proof for an hour, or until dough is doubled in size. Use remaining egg from (C) to lightly egg wash the top. If you added raisins, you would want to also lightly sprinkle some brown sugar over the top or omit the sugar.
Bake at 180°C for 25 mins – the first 20 mins on the lowest rack, and final 5 mins on 2nd rack from bottom.
Take pan out from oven, and let bread cool in pan for 5-10 mins. Remove loaf from pan and let completely cool on rack for at least 30 mins to an hour before slicing. Enjoy!
BAKING WITH RAISINS
If you're using raisins, I would highly suggest soaking the raisins either in hot water or brewed black tea for at least 10-15 minutes. By doing so, the raisins would be more plump. Just remember to always drain the liquid and pat them dry before adding into the dough. If pressed for time though, it is also fine to use dried raisins. Or you may simply omit the raisins and sugar topping for a more generic pandan loaf.
BAKING INTO BUNS
If baking this recipe into buns, you can make 9 buns in a 8" square pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. This video here will guide you on how to shape buns from 4:23 to 5:37.
CAN I OMIT MILK POWDER?
You may opt to omit the milk powder and replace with an extra tbsp of flour, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Milk powder adds fats, protein and flavour to the dough, that not only makes the dough richer and creamier in taste, but also helps dough rise higher. The addition of milk powder will also help yield a more tender crumb texture.
I also wouldn’t suggest substituting milk powder with liquid milk as it is adding extra hydration to the dough, which may alter the texture of the finished product. In other words, adding milk powder gives you the same benefits of milk without the extra liquid, with a more concentrated % of milk sugar and protein that will benefit the dough.
HELP! MY DOUGH IS TOO STICKY!
For bread maker users, check the dough 10 minutes into the kneading the main dough. It should be smooth and the mixing bowl should be clean by now. If your dough is too sticky to manage, you may add 1 tbsp of flour at a time.
For Thermomix users, if you experience a stickier dough, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time and knead for 15-20 seconds until well incorporated.
Lightly oil your hands (and the pastry mat depending on how sticky your dough is) using neutral flavoured oil or butter to shape dough into a ball. Apply the chafing technique by cupping your hands gently around the dough, apply a light, downwards pressure to the sides whilst simultaneously rotating the dough in a circular clockwise motion. Continue doing so until a smooth, even, and round ball is formed.
Recipe adapted from Dingoozatfood who uses a standmixer in her recipe. I used similar ingredients but converted to breadmaker and Thermomix method respectively.