Kawaii red panda “Turning Red” milk bread buns recipe by Kat Lieu

Hi friends! Are you as excited about Disney’s Turning Red as I am?

“In "Turning Red", Mei Lee is a confident, dorky thirteen-year-old torn between staying her mother's dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. And as if changes to her interests, relationships, and body weren't enough, whenever she gets too excited (which for a teenager is practically ALWAYS), she "poofs" into a giant red panda!”-https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_red

This movie is magical and also so relatable. When a girl goes through puberty, it’s as if she becomes a whole new person, like a giant red panda! The animation looks superb and I bet this movie with be funny, heart-warming, and super entertaining! I can’t wait to watch it on Disney Plus. This is not an ad! #turningred #pixar #disney I’m just super excited about the movie and I’m so proud to see more Asian representation on the big screen!

#representationmatters

To decorate these cute red panda buns, I used white chocolate, cut marshmallows, and melted chocolate. The best time to decorate is when the buns are still warm, so the marshmallow will just stay stuck on the buns.

If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment or email me! #subtleasianbakes

Recipe notes:

• You can try using carrot juice and carrot shreds instead of food coloring. The color will be less vibrant and the bread will have a subtle carroty taste.

• You can make these buns vegan by substituting dairy milk with plant-based milk, butter with vegan butter, and the egg with any of the following vegan binders: flax seed egg, silken or soft tofu, mashed banana, or even ripe avocado. Just use 50 g of it.

• It is not possible to make these buns with a similar texture, look, and taste using gluten-free flour :(

---

Preorder my cookbook here!

From the Subtle Asian Baking community comes Modern Asian Baking at Home, must-have recipes for beloved sweet and savory treats found across Asia.

Pre-order Modern Asian Baking at Home today! Pre-order bonuses are here!

---

Yield 91x2x3x4x5x

Author Kat Lieu

Prep time

35 Min

Cook time

32 Min

Inactive time

2 Hour

Total time

3 H & 7 M

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Red Panda Milk Bread Buns to Celebrate Disney Pixar's Turning Red, Recipe by Kat Lieu

( 0 reviews )

IngredientsUSMetric

For the milk bread buns

• 350 g bread flour
• 75 g sugar (less if you want the bread less sweet)
• 1 packet of dry yeast (7-8g)
• 1 large egg (egg replacement OK, like 50 g soft tofu or mashed banana or a flax egg)
• 180 ml warm milk (coconut milk OK) (heat milk for about 30 seconds in the microwave until 110F)
• 2 tablespoons or 30 g softened butter (vegan butter OK)
• Pinch of salt or a teaspoon of miso paste
• Orange food coloring gel with a drop of red
• Melted chocolate for decorating, marshmallows, and white chocolate chips

Instructions

To make the milk bread buns

1. Combine the flour, salt or miso paste, and sugar and set aside. Combine the yeast, with a pinch of sugar, with the warm milk. Mix and then set aside for 10 minutes. (Add in a few drops of orange food coloring gel with a drop of red food coloring gel.)
2. Using low mixing (level 2 on Kitchen aide) and the dough hook, mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk the egg into the milk, and then slowly pour into the dry ingredients. Knead with mixer for about 10 minutes. If the dough looks too dry, add in a little milk. If the dough is too wet closing in on 10 minutes of mixing, add more flour.
3. You should have a nice kneadable bread dough after 10 minutes, it should not be sticky, but it should also not be dry. Cover and set aside for about 10 minutes in a warm place. (Proof in oven is OK.)
4. Add the softened butter (30g) to the dough and knead for another 10 minutes on low. Check to see if you get windowpane effect when you stretch the dough. Again it should not be sticky, should not be dry. You can add more flour to a sticky dough.
5. Roll into a ball. Cover and set aside for about 15 minutes in a warm space. It should increase in size by a little.
6. Remove the dough and roll into a ball, then divide it into 9 equal pieces (about 70g each, and set aside a piece of dough for the ears). Turn each piece into a smooth ball. Place them evenly into a square baking dish. For the ears, I rolled out the reserved dough, flattened it, and cut small even triangles and stuck them onto the buns. If you want them to stick, wet the back of the ear with water before sticking onto the bun.
7. Brush or sprinkle bread flour over all the ears.
8. Proof in oven or a warm space for about an hour. The buns should puff up nicely and there shouldn't be a lot of space between each bun.
9. For these buns, I do NOT use any wash, egg or cream or milk. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Please cover the top with aluminum foil at about 15 of baking minutes to avoid burning the top.
10. Serve warm! Use two white chocolate chips as eyes and two as the mouth, and melted chocolate as pupils and the nose. Add cut marshmallows as the eyebrows and side white fur.
11. Troubleshooting: If the dough is too wet, add a little bread flour. If the dough is too dry, add a little milk. Must be well incorporated and kneaded.

Recommended Products:

Modern Asian Baking at Home Cookbook

Monfish Pullman Loaf Bread Pan

Silicone Baking Mats

All rights reserved for the respective recipe author and modernasianbaking.com

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @subtleasian.baking on instagram and hashtag it #subtleasianbakes

---

Work with us!

---

About the Baker

Kat Lieu is the founder of Subtle Asian Baking and this website modernasianbaking.com, and she is the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home. Currently, Kat is a full-time author and recipe developer. Follow her on instagram and check out her blog Phil and Mama.

Here she is seen with a classic bowl cut, seated next to her Ah Ma in Montreal. Circa 1985