These have been a brainchild of mine for a while – I wanted to make a fluffy, Chinese-style pastry with a baked yam filling since 2018 actually. But I was lazy. The idea of peeling and steaming yam and then mashing it sounded tedious. But then I realized, why not just microwave the yam? It’s fast, easy, and has little to any real clean up! I did fold some butterscotch into the yam as well, since that helps the pastry taste a lot sweeter, and used some miso in there for that umami and depth. The bread itself is my standard milk bread, which I just love to make! Overall, these wool bread rings are great for breakfast, brunch, or just as a snack on the go!

For the tangzhong:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
a pinch of salt

Whisk together your ingredients in a pot until combined. Switch to a heatproof rubber spatula and stir on medium-high heat until the mixture is thickened and the liquid is reduced by about half. Pour onto a nonstick surface and allow the tangzhong to cool down completely before adding it into your bread dough.

For the milk bread dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast(1 packet)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
Tangzhong
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons neutral flavored oil
2 eggs
2 cups bread flour

In a bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar, and milk and allow that to sit for 10 minutes. Mix the tangzhong with the butter, oil, and eggs first to combine, then add in the yeast-milk mixture and finally, your flour. Mix the dough together in a stand mixer with a dough hook for at least 10 minutes, or until the dough comes together and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore. Cover the dough and allow it to rest in a warm place for at least 1 hour. Then refrigerate the dough for another 20 minutes.

For the filling:
2 purple yams
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup butterscotch

Poke holes in the yam and microwave for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool down before peeling off the skin and whipping the yam with the other ingredients into a paste.

For the butterscotch:
1 tspn miso paste
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup milk

Heat up ingredients and bring to a boil. Cool down before using in the filling or to glaze.

For the glaze:
1 egg yolk
Remaining butterscotch

Mix together.

To assemble:
Divide your dough into eight pieces – you will be making two loaves of wool bread, each from four pieces. Roll each piece out into an oval and press repeatedly with either a dough scraper or a butter knife on half of each oval, keeping the edge parallel to the longer side of the oval. Place about 2 tbsp of filling onto the unpressed side and roll up from the unpressed side so that the rigid side covers and wraps around the rest of the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. Place into lined 6-inch ring molds, four to a mold, along the edges of the ring mold. Brush with the glaze and bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool down before attempting to serve.