Soboro Bread

There are certain memories I have of my childhood in Korea. My mom making strawberry jam, playing with my neighbor friend, trying to ditch kindergarten (I know I was such a little rebel), and eating fresh baked sorobo bread from the bakery. It's a soft bread with a crumbly peanut butter topping. I am lucky enough to have several Korean bakeries nearby where I live. But each of them make Soboro bread differently and not like the ones I remember as a child. I went on a search for a recipe and found one! This recipe is a definite keeper. The dough was nice and soft and the topping had a nice peanut butter/ buttery flavor with a nice crumbly texture. 

dough resting and ready for the first rise

the peanut butter topping

second rise

ready for the final rise

fresh out of the oven!

Soboro Bread
recipe from mistyyoon.com

The Dough Recipe

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
2 /3 cup warm water
2 eggs,beaten
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

The Topping Recipe

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2tablespoons powder milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey

egg wash: one egg and one Tablespoon of water

(I cut both recipes in half. For the peanut butter topping, even though I cut the recipe in half I added one whole egg)

In a small bowl, add the yeast to the 2/3 cup of warm water and leave to dissolve. Set aside.

In the kitchen aid bowl, sift together both AP and bread flour, sugar, and salt together. Attach the dough hook and slowly add the yeast mixture and knead until smooth and elastic. If dough is too sticky add flour or dough is too stiff, sprinkle a few drops of water. My dough ended up being too stiff and I added about 1 Tablespoon of water.

Add the room temperature butter and knead until the dough is soft, smooth and stretchy. Put into a clean bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until the bread size is doubled. It was hot the day I made this so it took about 45 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled knead the dough by hand just a couple of times.Then divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into a ball. Place them on a sheet pan and cover. This will be the second rise. Let the dough double once again.

While the dough is on its second rise make the peanut butter topping.
 In a bowl, sift the flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and salt. In the kitchen aid, add the butter and peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Then add the egg & the honey and mix. Finally add the dry ingredients and mix. Cover and throw it in the fridge.

When the dough is done rising, make the egg wash. Dip each piece of dough into the egg wash and then grab a handful of topping and press gently into the dough. Cover once again and let it rise for one last time about 25 minutes. Preheat the oven halfway into the rise to 375. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown.