Effortless Anpan Delight with Your Bread Machine for Busy Moms
Anpan is one of the popular breads in Japan, filled with sweet red bean paste called “anko.” Originally, anko was commonly used as a filling for mochi, but the founder of Kimuraya (a famous Japanese bakery) had the idea to put anko inside bread, which became a hit and gained popularity. This bread is loved by people of all ages, from the elderly to children.
I never thought that such a delicious bread could be easily made at home. Those who truly love baking may enjoy meticulously crafting bread dough from scratch. While I enjoy baking, I find myself pressed for time, so I often use the bread maker’s dough-making function, allowing me to focus on other tasks.
In this guide, I’ll introduce a simple recipe for making anpan using a bread maker. While you can make your own anko, this recipe uses commercially available canned red bean paste. I’ve tried making anko from scratch once, and I found that being able to adjust the sugar content makes homemade anko taste even better than store-bought versions. Additionally, making it from scratch made me realize how much sugar goes into commercial products, prompting me to appreciate the moderation of sweetness achievable through homemade recipes.
Ingredients:
- 200g All Purpose or Bread Flour
- 20g Butter
- 3g Salt
- 20g Sugar
- 90ml Milk
- 4g Yeast
- 1 Egg
- 200g Red Bean Paste(Anko)
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This powdered sugar shaker duster helps when the dough is sticky, allowing for easy flour application.
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Instructions for the Dough
- In a bread maker, add the ingredients in this order: butter, salt, sugar, egg, milk, flour, and yeast. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the egg mixture for later (for a shiny finish on the bread). Then start the bread maker in the dough mode.
- Once the dough is ready, divide it into 6 equal portions and shape them into balls. Cover the dough balls and let them rest for about 15 minutes.Roll out one dough ball with a rolling pin into an oval shape, about 6 inches by 3 inches.
- Stretch the dough into a 5-inch circle, place the sweet red bean paste in the center of the dough, fold it over, and roll it into a ball.
- Brush the reserved egg mixture from step 1 onto the bread. Let the shaped bread ferment for about 30-45 minutes, or until it has expanded to about 1.5 times its original size.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake the cream pan for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until it turns a golden brown color.The time depends on the oven/air fryer. My previous air fryer took 15 minutes, but my current one takes only 10 minutes. This is my favorite air fryer. I purchased it for $150, but it’s on sale now and $79, including tax. If you’re interested, here is the link.
- Enjoy your freshly baked Anpan!
Suggestions and Tips for Using a Bread Machine
Delicious Grilled Lamb Made Perfectly in the Air Fryer
My oven is used for storage, and it takes a long time to heat up. So, I typically use an air fryer for baking or frying. It’s much faster and doesn’t require a lot of space. I’ve tried several different air fryers, and this GoWISE air fryer is the best! I recommended it to my friends, and they loved it too. Currently, it’s on sale for $79.30, including tax. If you’re looking for a compact oven air fryer, I highly recommend it.” Its dimensions are 12.75″D x 13″W x 14″H. Although it came with various accessories, I only used the grill and a few baking sheets. I wanted to cook quickly, clean up swiftly, and have more time to relax, so I even preferred to skip the time spent on attaching accessories.
Suggestions and Tips for Using a Bread Machine
Cream Pan (Custard Cream Pastry)
This is a super popular Japanese Cream Pan (Custard cream pan) recipe. It’s essentially the same as Anpan; just use “custard cream instead of red bean paste inside. Check it out!