Gyeongju Hwangnam Bread

Ingredients

• 150g dried adzuki beans
• 90g caster sugar for the filling
• 1/4 tsp fine salt for the filling
• 135g plain flour
• 45g caster sugar for the dough
• 1 medium egg
• 15g runny honey
• 15g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 egg yolk for glazing
• 1 tsp milk for glazing

Before you cook

• Rinse the adzuki beans and soak them in cold water overnight, then drain them.
• Beat the 45g of sugar with the whole egg and the honey until pale and slightly foamy.
• Beat in the softened butter, then the bicarbonate of soda dissolved in the tablespoon of milk.
• Sift in the flour and fold it through until a soft, sticky dough just comes together, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.
• Wrap the dough and chill it for 30 minutes.
• Whisk the egg yolk with the teaspoon of milk for glazing.
• Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Steps

1. Put the soaked beans in a pan, cover them with water, bring it to the boil and drain them after 5 minutes.
2. Cover the beans with fresh water by 3cm and simmer them for 45 minutes, until they collapse when pressed.
3. Drain the beans, keeping a little of the cooking water back.
4. Mash the beans coarsely, leaving plenty of whole skins and broken halves in the mix rather than making a smooth paste.
5. Return the mash to the dry pan over low heat with the 90g of sugar and the salt.
6. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes, until the paste pulls away from the base of the pan and holds a line when you drag the spoon through.
7. Spread the paste on a cold plate and let it cool completely.
8. Divide the cooled paste into 12 balls of about 25g each.
9. Heat the oven to 180C fan.
10. Divide the chilled dough into 12 pieces of about 20g each and roll each into a ball.
11. Flatten a dough ball into a thin disc on a floured surface, put a bean ball in the centre and draw the dough up around it, pinching the seam shut.
12. Set the parcel seam-side down and press it gently into a flat round about 5cm across and 1.5cm thick.
13. Prick a ring of dots into the top with a skewer to make the chrysanthemum pattern that gives this bread its face.
14. Shape the rest the same way and space them well apart on the lined tray.
15. Brush the tops lightly with the egg yolk glaze.
16. Bake for 13 minutes, until the tops are a deep, even chestnut brown.
17. Cool the pastries on a rack for 15 minutes, and eat them while the skin is still crisp and the bean inside is warm.