Pumpkin Shokupan 食パンwith Sunflower Seeds
By: Rosalind Hong
Tags: Bread, Recipe, Baking, Air Fryer, Food

For this recipe, I am using a 230g loaf tin with lid opened to get a dome shaped Shokupan, if you would like to have it square shaped, I would suggest to use my recipe below in a 250g loaf tin with lid closed

INGREDIENTS BELOW:

For Yudane

50g Bread Flour

50ml Hot Water

For Final Dough

Yudane

170g Bread Flour

3g Instant Yeast

30g Fine Sugar

3g Fine Salt

70g Pumpkin (mashed)

1 Egg (whisked) — weighs around 55g to 60g

20g Unsalted Butter

40g Sunflower Seeds

For this recipe, you can use a 250g loaf tin (lid closed to give a nice square Shokupan shape) You can get it here

OR

You can use a 230g loaf tin (open lid to give a nice domed Shokupan). You can get it here .

**You can opt to not use Yudane method by just using 220g flour and 50ml milk and skip Yudane prep method**

YUDANE PREP METHOD BELOW:

1) Sieve bread flour into mixing bowl. Add in hot water and use wooden spoon or spatula to combine them evenly and into a ball

2) Cling wrap the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator for a min. of 4 hours or overnight

3) Remove Yudane from the refrigerator 40mins prior to using it for it to adjust itself to room temperature

DOUGH PREP METHOD BELOW:

1) Sieve bread flour into mixing bowl. Add in yeast & sugar then whisk it to incorporate the dry ingredients evenly. Tear in Yudane if you are using Yudane method. Add in pumpkin, egg & salt (add milk too if you’re not using Yudane method)

HAND MIXER + HAND KNEADING METHOD BELOW:

1) Use hand mixer with dough hook at Speed 2 (low) to knead the dough for about 2mins. Once you see the dough structure start to form, add in butter & seeds (fold in dough with your hand to cover the butter & nuts) and continue kneading for another 3mins

[Note : Rest handmixer for about 30secs or so after adding butter to prolong the “life” of your hand mixer. Do not use hand mixers below 300watts cause it will just burn out. If you’re using stand mixer, you’re absolutely safe]

2) You will see the dough forming into a scraggly ball at about the 3rd minute onwards after you add in the butter. If you have been trying out my Soft Milk Buns recipe, this dough texture is almost similar

3) Move dough to a clean surface to start hand kneading. Use a spatula to transfer every bit out

4) DO NOT succumb to the temptation of dusting the surface with flour as it will reduce the hydration level of the dough. Try using a plastic/marble/any smooth surface for this.

Take a deep breath, warm up your arms & elbow for a good workout in the next steps!

5) Start to slap & fold your dough by pulling up the whole dough & slapping it down gently. Repeat this motion by taking the dough nearest to your body, fold it front then pulling up the dough and slapping it down gently again. Continue to hand knead for 10–15 minutes

**Alternatively, after using hand mixer for 5mins, you can hand knead the dough for 5mins, rest it for 5mins. Hand knead again for 5mins and rest it for 5mins before doing the window pane test. The rest time in between not only allow you time to rest your arms but also for gluten to form within the dough making it easier to pass the window pane test**

6) Test your dough by stretching it to see if it stretches well without breaking immediately & if it passes the “window pane test”. You can start your 1st proofing once this is done.

7) Smoothen up & lightly tighten the dough then place them into a bowl (dusted with flour — remove any remaining flour in the bowl) Cover with a cling wrap or towel. Proof it for 1hr or till double in size

**For Hand Mixer + Hand Kneading user, you can refer to my video guide here under “Hand Kneading” section**

STAND MIXER METHOD BELOW (using dough hook) :

1) Use Speed 1 to bring together all the ingredients for 2mins while lightly scrapping the sides to the middle using spatula so the dry ingredients come together

2) At 2mins you will see the dough coming together then shift to Speed 2 for 3 mins to knead the dough

3) Stop the mixer and scrape down the dough from the hook. Add in butter & seeds and fold the dough over it and let it rest for 3 minutes

4) Once 3 minutes is up, continue to knead the dough at Speed 2 for 1min then progress to Speed 4 for 4mins. Let dough rest for another 3 minutes

5) After resting the dough, knead the dough at Speed 4 for 5 minutes. Test your dough by stretching it to see if it stretches well without breaking immediately & if it passes the “window pane test”. You can start your 1st proofing once this is done.

6) Smoothen up & lightly tighten the dough then place them into a bowl (dusted with flour — remove any remaining flour in the bowl) Cover with a cling wrap or towel. Proof it for 1hr or till double in size

**For Standmixer user, you can refer to my video guide here under “Standmixer 101” section**

SHAPING METHOD :

1) After 1hr, remove the dough from mixing bowl. This recipe yields around 475g of dough

2) Portion the dough out into 2 (237g each half) and gently shape it. Let it rest on the surface for 15mins under cling wrap/cloth

3) Press down each dough with a rolling pin to remove any air bubbles from the dough. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape using a rolling pin. If the dough is too tacky, dust a little flour on your work surface & on rolling pin. Fold the left of the dough to the middle point & then the right over the left fold. Use a rolling pin to flatten it out to the depth of your pan

4) Start to roll the dough with your hands (like a Swiss roll) from the top to the bottom while gently tightening it then seal the end. If your dough is not taut enough at the top it might cause an air hole between the top of the loaf and the crumb

5) Place your dough into both ends of the loaf tin (far left & far right so the dough will proof into a nice & evenly shaped Shokupan)

6) Cover the tin with cling wrap/cloth & proof it for another 50mins or until dough reaches about 2cm below the rim of the pan. Depending on the temperature in your home, some cooler condition require a little longer proofing. Normally the rule of thumb is, dough doubling in size. Proofing time of 50mins seem like a norm for me

AIR FRYER BAKING METHOD BELOW:

1) Pre-heat AF @ 155degrees for 5mins

2) Bake @ 155degrees for 10mins followed by 145degrees for 8mins (do not open the Air Fryer) Do test your temperature and adjust accordingly. High temperature will have your dough rise too fast & cause air holes below your crust (hence the dent in) and may also affect the crust texture

You can bake your Shokupan with or without the lid closed. Open lid baking will give you a dome shaped loaf while a closed lid baking will give you a squarish flat top loaf

3) Remove your Shokupan from the AF to be cooled on rack

4) Let your Shokupan cool for at least 2 hours before you slice them. This is to allow the loaf structure to settle otherwise, you may risk causing a small dense layer at the bottom due to the pressure of pressing the loaf while slicing. I prefer to cool mine overnight before slicing them to keep in my air tight container (for overnight cool down, I would usually remove my AF tray basket & put it on a cooling rack, move my Shokupan onto it and cover with a cotton cloth)

Hope this recipe helps all AF bakers out there. Do try to batch test for the right temperature and bake timing since Air Fryers may vary due to different circumstances (usage frequency, size and model)

MORE RECIPES HERE :)