Let’s make something unusual today, a bread bun filled with purple yam jam, hence the name Purple Yam Flower Bun. If you are not familiar with purple yam, then you are in for a treat. This flower taste as good as it looks. You might be skeptical about this if you haven’t tried purple yam jam but if you are in for something different then I hope you will give this a try.

I grew up in the Philippines where purrple yam or “Ube” is a very popular ingredient for dessert. In fact, I think purple yam flavored dessert is one thing that really screams “Filipino” dessert. A lot of our desserts are coconut base, rice base or puple yam base and they ae mostly vegan. Purple yam is so popular that you can find ice cream, jam, cake, cookies that have this ingredient.

One of the nice thing about purple yam is the natural vibrant color it has. That is what makes the product standout, the vibrant inviting color. Some people still add food color to enhance the color but I personally do not add any. I find that the natural color is more beautiful, plus who needs extra artificial coloring in the dessert when you can opt out of it. As you can see in the photos here, the purple yam jam is so vibrant eventhough I did not use any food coloring.

What is Purple Yam?

Purple yam, also known as ube, is a tuberous root vegetable with a vibrant purple flesh. It is commonly used in Asian and Filipino cuisine to add color and flavor to various sweet and savory dishes. Ube has a subtly sweet and nutty flavor, making it a popular ingredient in desserts, jams, and bread recipes. The Purple Yam Jam post I mentioed mentioned showcases how this unique vegetable can be transformed into a smooth and creamy jam, which is commonly used as a filling for bread and pastries. If you haven’t explored the versatility of purple yam yet, it’s definitely worth trying in your culinary adventures.

How to make Purple Yam Flower Bun

A homemade Purple Yam for a more personlize touch

We have to do 2 main process to this bread. First is the part where you have to make the purple yam jam. I have a short video on how to do this, have a look to get an idea.

You can also buy ready to use purple yam jam or “Ube” is some Asian grocery or try to check the Asian section of your large grocery. This will simplify the process for you. I personally prefer making my own as I also enjoy eating the jam on its own. I get to decide how much sugar I want to add or adjust the consistency and texture to my preference.

A homemade bread dough from scratch

Once you have the jam ready, then you can start making the bread dough. You will need about 3 hrs max for this. This involves 2 rest period of 1 hour each and mixing and baking time about 45 minutes. Test bread does take a bit of time to make, but if you are into bread making you know it is worth the wait.

Tips for a Successful Soft Homemade Bread

• Liquid Temperature – Yeast grows in temperature between 105 – 110F, so its important to have the water that you are using to “proof” it in this range. If you go lower or higher, the yeast might not proof properly. That means the bread will not rise as much, resulting to a flat and tough bread.
• Check Yeast Expiry a Date – you might be wondering how come the bread did not rise when you followed exactly the recipe. Well, first thing first, make sure the yeast is not yet expired. Expired yeast is the common reason for flat and dense bread. If your bread did not expand or rise during the rest period, it is most likely that the yeast is not fresh or the water temperature is too hot or cold.
• Amount of Yeast – Just because you want a tall bread doesn’t mean you have to put as much yeast in the mixture. Sometimes adding too much yeast can cause the bread to collapse during the rest period. Just imagine putting more air than what is needed in a balloon, the balloon will explode. The same case with bread.
• Right Type of Yeast – Make sure to use the right type of yeast for your recipe, and make necessary adjustments if you want to swap one from another. Active dry yeast and instant yeast not a 1:1 ratio. Usually, instant yeast is 25% less than active dry yeast.
  • Rest Period – Yeast bread needs time to rise. There are bread that uses less yeast but requires more rest time, the likes of No Knead Bread or Artisan Bread which usually require 8- 16 hours rest period to get the volume and to develop the flavor. The point is, give it time to rest, don’t touch it just leave it in a warm place. The first rest period will normally tell you if your dough is good or not. If it rise and almost double in size, then your on the right track.
• Expiration and Quality of the Flour – The quality of the flour greatly affect the texture of the bread. Flour could differ from country to country although they are all called as all-purpose flour or bread flour. Sometimes it also depends on the brand. The age of the flour is also a factor, the closer the flour to expiration date or if it is already expired, the flour could tend to be drier, which means it would require more liquid than mentioned in the recipe. This is a common issue of way sometimes the dough tend to be tough and dry. This is why sometimes you have to add few more tablespoon of flour or wet ingredients from the suggested flour measurement to get the right texture. The dough should be soft, smooth and elastic. If it is too wet, add a bit more flour until it is no longer to sticky to handle. If it is too dry, a small amount of liquid helps provide moisture to the dough. A clean side of the bowl, with the dough slightly sticking at the bottom, a soft, smooth and elastic dough is what You are aiming for.

How do I Know if I Made the Bread Dough Correctly?

• Activating the Yeast – This is the first thing that you should get right, otherwise do NOT proceed. After 5 – 10 minutes you should see a foam forms on top of the water, this is an indication that the yeast is alive. If you do not get this, either the yeast is old or the liquid temperature is too hot or cold. The temperature should be 110F, lukewarm but not hot. If using instant yeast, you do not have to activate it.
• Clean Bowl After Kneading – The sides of the bowl should be clean, while the bottom is slightly sticking to the dough. This means that amount of liquid to the flour is correct. Enough to make a clean bowl and still make a slightly wet dough.
• Soft Dough – Soft dough means the amount of flour to liquid is enough. Too much flour could make the bread dense and heavy, and too much liquid could make it too wet. Both will affect how the bread rise in the rest period. Try to push your fingers in the dough, it should leave a “dimple” on the dough and should gradually disappear.
• Smooth Dough Surface – Again, this is a sign of correct flour to liquid ratio. A “bumpy” surface could mean that the dough is dry and tough.
• Elastic Dough – A soft dough is usually elastic. If your dough is dry and tough, it wouldn’t be as elastic when you pull it apart.
• First Rest Period – The dough should almost double in size. This is a sign that the activation of the yeast work which is crucial to making a soft and fluffy bread. This also means the yeast is alive (not yet expired) and the liquid temperature is correct. I always use baking thermometer to check the temperature of the liquid. Normally, first rest period is a minimum of 1 hour to maximum of 1 1/2 hours, at this time the dough should double in size already, otherwise your bread is in trouble.
• Second Rest Period – The bread dough should be really puff up. This is crucial and the final state of the bread before baking. If you are able to make it puff-up, that is a good sign that there are air trapped inside which will make the bread fluffy. Some recipe requires only 1 rest period, so your check point is the the 1st period.

Why is My Dough too Wet or too Dry?

Don’t get frustrated if your dough did not turn out immediately as what you see in the photo or video. Most likely It is not because you did not follow the recipe. When it comes to bread making, the amount of flour and liquid is not always 100% precise. This is why often times you will encounter recipes that says, if your dough is dry, add a bit more liquid. If your dough is too wet, add a little bit more flour. This instructions are not meant to confuse you, they are meant to guide you on how to adjust as you work through your dough. The reason for this is that  although the measurement of water and flour are specified in the recipe, it still could slightly vary depending on many factors. For instance, all-purpose flour could very from country to country, or even from brand to brand. Don’t be surprise if you find that some brand tends to require a bit more liquid as the others. On top of this, the amount of liquid is also affected by the state of your flour. How old is the flour that you are using? Older flour nearing expiry tends to be drier and this requires more liquid. Humidity also affects baking. The more humid it is, the more likely the dough will be sticky and wet. Bread making requires patience, and practice. Once you learn how to feel the right texture of the dough, everything will be quick and easy. You can instantly tell if you need to add more water or flour to get the dough in right state.

Let’s make Purple Yam Jam

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 batch Purple Yam Jam
• 1 cup + 3 tablespoon Bread Flour
• 1/4 cup lukewarm Milk (110F)
• 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon granulated White Sugar
• 1 1 /4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast ( I used Fleischmann’s brand)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted Butter – softened at room temperature
• 1 Egg for brushing (Add 1 tsp water to make egg wash) – optional
• 1/4 teaspoon Poppy Seed or Sesame Seed – optional

Purple Yam Ingredients:

• 700g cooked and grated Purple Yam (approximately 3 large size purple yam)
• 1 can COLD Condensed Milk
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk or full fat milk
• 1/4 cup granulated Sugar

Note: This recipe can be done without a stand mixer. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and using your hand, manually mix and knead the dough in a flat surface.

Instructions:

1. Prepare Purple Yam Jam. This can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge. I have a short video for this, click VIDEO HERE to watch. For the instructions, check this RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
2. Activate Yeast: Microwave milk for 20- 25 seconds until lukewarm but NOT hot, aim for 110 – 115F. If you have a baking thermometer, use it as it is the best way to be sure of the temperature. Hot milk will kill the yeast and the bread will not rise properly. Transfer milk in bowl of stand mixer (Refer to discussion above for other Methods of making this) and add 1/2 tsp of the granulated sugar and stir. Add the yeast and let rest for 10 minutes until mixture is foamy. If the mixture did not become foamy, either the yeast is old or the milk is too hot. Do NOT proceed until corrected, otherwise you will end up with a tough dense bread.
3. Add Wet and Dry Ingredients: Set mixer with paddle attachment and mix in remaining sugar (2 tbsp), beaten egg oil, bread flour and salt. Mix until combined. Switch to a hook attachment. Allow mixture to knead on medium-low speed (2 kitchenaid) about 15 minutes until smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until the dough comes together, the dough should be slightly sticky, smooth, soft and but not too dry. If too much flour is added, the rolls will be dense and heavy. A good measure of correct texture is a clean mixing bowl with slightly sticky bottom, a soft, smooth and elastic dough just like the photo below. On the other hand, if it is too drt, add 1/2 teaspoon warm milk and continue kneading about 3 minutes before adding more liquid.
4. Add softened butter and knead for another 15 minutes. The final dough should be smooth, soft and elastic. The side of the bowl is clean while the bottom is slightly sticking

5. First Rest Period: Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Transfer into a greased bowl (I used oil spray) and roll the dough inside the bowl to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or warm towel and allow to rest for 1 hour in a warm place. Greasing the bowl lessen the sticking of the dough in the surface of the bowl. The left photo is after 8 minutes kneading the dough, and the right photo is after 1 hour rest. It doubles in size.

TIP: To help the dough rise faster, you can also pre-heat the oven to 110F then turn it OFF and put the covered dough inside. 

6. Shape: and Fill Take the dough out from the bowl and lightly push the dough down with the heel of the palm of your hands. Divide into 6 portions. I used a kitchen weighing scale, you can eye-ball it if you do not have scale. Roll and flatten each piece to 5-inch size. Fill the center with 2 tablespoon of Purple Yam Jam. Flatten and lightly spread the jam but make sure to have enough allowace on the side for folding and sealing. Fold the excess dough toward the center, make it tight to avoid empty space inside. Make sure to seal all the edges once done folding. Using a rollin pin, or you fingers, press the dough to about 3-inch disk size. Make a 4 way cut, leaving center un-cut to hold the 4 section.

7. Second Rest Period: Cover and leave for 1 hour in a warm place before baking.

To help the dough rise better, I put it inside the oven which I pre-heated to 110F. Once it reached the 110F, turn OFF the oven. DO NOT forget to turn it OFF, you only want the oven to warm up for the dough to rise, you do not want to dough to be baked. Some oven has a proofing setting, mine doesn’t, so this is my trick.

8. Brush with egg wash Brush the top with eggwash (1 beaten egg + 1 teaspoon water). Sprinkle poppey seed or sesame seed -on top (optional)

9. Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.

Reminder:  The larger the bun size, the longer the baking time and smaller bun size require less baking time. Adjust baking time as necessary).

Featured Posts:

• Purple Yam Sweet Roll Bread
• Braided Purple Yam Loaf Bread
• Purple Yam Cupcakes
• Purple Yam Star Bread
• Purple Yam Swiss Roll Cake
• Purple Yam Crinkles
• [VIDEO] Purple Yam Jam
• [VIDEO] Purple Yam Macapuno Chiffon Cake
• [VIDEO] Purple Yam Wool Bread

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