[Chinese Recipes] Brown Sugar Bread (Guo Kui)

There is a large group of stunning variety of breads named as Guokui in the Chinese northwest, usually filled with savory meats including this famous Shanxi báijímó. But the whole group is quite less famous outside of the area. However, there is an exception found in Chengdu, a tinny sweet guokui. It is quite popular in Chengdu but also unknown outside of the area.

I have developed this recipe and made twice before posting the recipe. All of the two batches are great success. My daughter loves those slightly stiff but chewy bread with a running sugar filling.

This is a semi-fermented Chinese bread. The more water you use and the longer the resting time is, the softer the bread will be. On the contrary， the less water and the shorter the resting time is, the stiffer and chewier the bread will be. So basically you just adjust the softness of the bread by controlling the water amount or resting time. The recipe creates a chewy bread since my fermentation time only lasts 30 minutes.

Ingredients
300g (2 +1/3 cups ) all-purpose flour, more for dusting
150g (150ml) water
2g (1/2 tsp.) salt
1 tsp. yeast
oil for brushing

Filling
16g （2 tbsp.）all purpose flour
55g (1/4 cup) powdered brown sugar
a tiny pinch of salt
Instructions

Mix brown sugar with flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, add flour, salt, instant yeast and water, then mix at low speed for 8-9 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover with a wet cloth or plastic wrap to rest for around 30 minutes (in summer) or 45 minutes (in winter ) depending on your temperature until the dough is ⅓ bigger than the previous one. (The surface is completely smooth but there is no Honeycomb texture inside).

Knead the dough again to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a uniform long log around 4cm in diameter. Cut the long log into 14 equal portions.

Wrap the powdered filling in.

Brush a thin layer of oil in a casting iron pan，place the bread in one by one, cover the lid and then fry each side for 6-8 minutes over slow fired.

Chinese Brown Sugar Bread (Guo Kui)
Prep Time: 35 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 45 mins



Famous Chengdu brown sugar guokui
Course: staple
Cuisine: Sichuan
Keyword: bread, sugar
Servings: 14 making 14 small breads
Calories: 104 kcal
Author: Elaine

Ingredients

• 300 g all-purpose flour ,more for dusting
• 150 ml water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. yeast
• oil for brushing
• Filling
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup powdered brown sugar
• a tiny pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix brown sugar with flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, add flour, salt, instant yeast and water, then mix at low speed for 8-9 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.
3. Cover with a wet cloth or plastic wrap to rest for around 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on your temperature until the dough is ⅓ bigger than the previous one. (The surface is completely smooth but there is no Honeycomb texture inside).
4. Knead the dough again to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a uniform long log around 4cm in diameter. Cut the long log into 14 equal portions.
5. Wrap the powdered filling in.
6. Brush a thin layer of oil in a casting iron pan，place the bread in one by one, cover the lid and then fry each side for 6-8 minutes over slow fired.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Chinasichuanfood.com. Thanks so much!