With a savory curry filling, a chewy, springy texture, and a light coating of crispy panko, Japanese Curry Bread - or Kare Pan - is the star of pastries at Japanese bakery shops. If you are a huge fan of Japanese curry, you have to make this insanely delicious bread bun at home.
Curry Bread (Kare Pan)
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g bread flour (1 cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 50 g cake flour (1/3 cup + 1 tsp)
- 3 g kosher/sea salt (use half for table salt) (1 tsp)
- 15 g sugar (1 Tbsp + ½ tsp)
- 3 g instant dry yeast (1 tsp; See Notes if you use ACTIVE dry yeast)
- 125 g whole milk (125 ml; I highly recommend using whole milk instead of non-fat or reduced-fat milk.)
- 10 g unsalted butter (1 Tbsp)
- 300 g Japanese curry of your choice (1 ½ cup) (at room temperature, made previous night kept in the fridge overnight. Here are recipes for Beef Curry, Chicken Curry, and Instant Pot Curry)
- 1 large egg (for coating the bread; I forgot to put in the ingredient picture below)
- 60 g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (¾ cup; at room temperature)
- neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
INSTRUCTIONS
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1) Gather all the ingredients. Leave the unsalted butter and Japanese curry at room temperature.
To make the dough:
- In a large bowl, combine bread flour, cake flour, kosher salt and sugar. Whisk together.
- Microwave the milk until warm to the touch (95 ºF/35 ºC). Then add in the the instant dry yeast and the warm milk.
- Using the silicone spatula, combine the wet and dry ingredients together until it becomes a rough dough. [1-2 minutes]
- Once the dough becomes a ball, add the butter in the center of the dough and combine well until the butter is incorporated into the dough. At first, the dough will be sticky, wet, and oily and you might want to add more flour, but wait and try kneading a little longer. [2-3 minutes]
- Once you don’t see any big chunks of butter, transfer the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable. Read the tip on kneading below. [5 minutes]
- Tip on kneading: Using the lower part of your palm, push out the dough. Then roll back up as if you’re drawing the number “8” with your hand. Rotate the dough 90 degrees every time you finish drawing “8”.
- After drawing “8” a few times, bang the dough onto the work surface and fold it over away from you. This helps develop gluten (elasticity). Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat drawing “8” again. Continue this process until the dough is smooth, supple, and silky.
- When the dough is moist, smooth, and pliable, form a ball. Place the seam side down on the working surface and twist the ball a few times to close the seam.
- Place the dough back into the bowl, seam side down, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at 100 ºF (38 ºC) for 60 minutes, or until doubled in size (I used proof setting in my oven).
- Dust your finger with flour and poke the center of the dough. If the dough doesn’t close up, it’s ready.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently punch/press it down.
- Fold the dough into thirds – widthwise.
- Fold the dough into thirds – lengthwise.
- Turn upside down so the seam is facing down. Twist the dough to form a nice ball shape.
- Measure the weight of the dough on a kitchen scale and divide the number by 8. Roughly cut the dough into 8 pieces.
- Weigh each piece of dough and cut off the extra dough if it weighs more than you calculated.
- Add the extra dough to the smaller dough piece(s). Hide the extra dough in the center of the small dough by pulling the dough from the side.
- Twist the dough to seal the seam on your hand. Place the 8 dough balls on the baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper). Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
To form the curry bread:
- Place the dough seam side up and flatten out each piece with your hand. Fold in thirds – widthwise.
- Fold in thirds – lengthwise, and then turn it upside down so the seam side is on the bottom.
- Flatten again, and flip so the seam side is up.
- Roll out into a 3.5 inch (9 cm) circle using a rolling pin.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. One by one, thin out the edges of the dough with your fingers, with the center thicker than edges. The circle should be 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.
- Place the dough seam side up and put 1 to 1.5 Tbsp of curry paste in the center of the circle. Gather the opposing edges of the circle and fold the dough in half. Remember, KEEP THE CURRY OUT from the edges! It’s the most crucial part. If you didn’t read my post, read the tip #2 now.
- Tightly pinch the edges to seal well. If the edges are not pinched and pressed tightly, the seam might open up during proofing/deep frying.
- Next, to double secure, fold the edges over to one side at least once, like folding a brown lunch bag. Press the edges again to secure.
- Keeping the seam side on the bottom, put the bread back onto the silicone mat and cover with a damp towel while working on the rest of the dough.
- Once all the dough has curry filling, crack the egg into a bowl and whisk well. Place the panko in a shallow bowl/tray. Using a pastry brush, coat the formed dough with egg and then panko.
- Cover the bread with plastic wrap and let rise at 100 ºF (38 ºC) for 45-60 minutes or until 1.5 times its size (I used proof setting in my oven). If you touch the dough with your finger, indentation will stay on the dough.
To deep fry the bread:
- Heat the deep frying oil to 320ºF (160ºC) in a pot. Place 2-3 curry breads into the oil, seam side down. After a few seconds, flip it around so the seam side is now up. You may need to hold it with a pair of tongs. Keep turning them while they deep fry, until they cook to a golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the oil well and transfer to the wire rack or some paper towels to drain while it cools. Serve hot or at room temperature.