Roti Paung Pandan Kelapa

Some years back, Gardenia released a new fancy bread: Roti Pandan Kelapa. I’ve tried imitating this bread by modifying King Arthur Baking’s Japanese milk bread recipe, and while I was quite happy with the results, it still wasn’t as fluffy and perfect as I would have liked. Having fairly recently perfected my roti paung recipe, and inspired by my butterscotch bread recipe, I thought about having another go at making Roti Pandan Kelapa, by combining the recipe and techniques from both recipes.

Making My Roti Paung More ‘Pandan Kelapa’

Out of curiosity I looked online for gula melaka chips, and apparently they do exist, so I bought some. After opening the package, however, I was skeptical because they looked and smelled like butterscotch chips. After tasting them, I can confirm that they indeed were butterscotch chips 😅. Still good, though. I might figure out how to make the chips myself at some point.

When making roti paung, for liquids I had two options, either to use milk, or water with milk powder. So for this bread I used pandan water and coconut milk powder. In keeping with the same theme I could’ve used unrefined coconut oil in place of margarine, but I think it might impact the airiness of the dough. Perhaps a next experiment. Instead of stuffing each individual roti paung with margarine, I added the gula melaka chips. The smell that wafted through the kitchen after they were done… man. You will not be able to resist them once they come out of the oven.

Step by Step

Into the jug of your blender, cut up the pandan leaves into small pieces.

Blend the pandan leaves with the water, and strain.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the pandan liquid, egg, margarine and sugar.

Add the flour, milk powder, yeast and salt. Be careful not to let the yeast come into contact with the salt.

Using the dough hook, stir the ingredients at the lowest speed until combined.

Increase the speed by one step and knead, until the dough is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the bowl. On my KitchenAid mixer, this takes about 18 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a lightly greased surface, and shape into a tight ball.

Cover and let rest, until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. It was a particularly hot day when I made this, and the bowl overflowed after 1 hour.

When the dough is done rising, punch down to let out the air.

Divide into rolls. I usually divide into 16 pieces for bigger rolls, or 32 for smaller, party-sized rolls.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten the dough. Scatter the gula melaka chips.

Fold the edges into the center.

Flip seam-side down, and roll into a tight ball.

Arrange in greased baking tins. I usually use two 8-inch round pans or 9- by 5-inch loaf pans. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cover and let rest, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Towards the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (fan 160 degrees C).

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

When done, brush with melted margarine. Let rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!