Bomboloni

Ingredients (makes about 20pcs from 6cm diameter mould)
Dry
125g Japanese plain flour
125g Japanese bread flour
30g caster sugar
3g saf yeast (shelf life longer if kept in freezer)
1/8tsp Bakerzine Plus bread improver (shelf life longer if kept in freezer)
4g salt

Wet
100g cold UHT milk
15g cold water (keep in freezer before using and it is ok if ice is formed)
25g whole egg
25g egg yolk
20g shortening (do not use butter or it will absorb oil when frying)

vegetable oil for frying
caster sugar
fillings of your choice (eg. nutella, blueberry, custard, cream cheese etc.)

Directions

• Mix dry ingredients in mixer first using dough hook
• Add in the balance wet ingredients and slowly mix the mixture around 10min till dough is soft and sticky
• Transfer dough on a silicon mat and knead by hand for about 10min till thin membrane is formed. To do this, pinch a fistful of dough and slam on the mat, fold over the dough and repeat the process.
• Round and rest dough (covered) for 15mins
• Roll into about 4mm thickness (make sure to remove any bubbles) and use a 6mm round cutter to shape
• For balance dough scraps, round it and rest for another 20mins more before rolling and cutting to shape again
• Place each cut dough on a tray lined with parchment paper
• Let it rest and proof for another 1.5hrs to 2hrs
• Heat oil to about 160-170°C and fry each dough till light pale cream color
• Let it cool down before lightly coating it in a bowl of caster sugar
• Use a satay stick to poke a hole but not to poke through. Shift the stick around to make space for fillings
• Using a piping bag, fill the bomboloni with any fillings that you like (eg. nutella, blueberry, cream cheese, custard etc.)

Foodnote: Another learning journey with another instructor/chef who is very generous in sharing tips and tricks. Interesting thing I learn is that it is best to just knead the dough by hand after mixing for max 20mins in the mixer. Not to use high speed.... just 1-2 is good enough. Always check for thin membrance when dealing with dough for doughnuts or breads. Keep all flours, yeast in the freezer compartment to make it last longer. Japanese flour is the best.. yielding super soft bread and dough. Combination of yeast and improver is very important to get supersoft bread.

Another tip given to me is to just weigh the dough into balls of equal weight and flatten it... then leave it to proof.

Made this on 14th April 2019. I didn't use round cutter. Instead, I just weigh 20g dough each and flatten it. Got exactly 23 pieces. Didn't have parchment paper so my bomboloni stick to the paper sob sob. Chef called me and told me next time I can use normal paper but put shortening generously on it. Okie chef... will definitely try this recipe again. Another tips is that I should lower the temperature when frying. It should be lighter in color and that will make the bomboloni softer.