Lost Judgment: Anpan

Welcome to my blog where my schedule has been so crazy that posting at a regular pace has been difficult this past year (this should be changing soon). But I will always make an exception when it comes to new recipes for the latest release from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Jeff and I have been crushing our way through Lost Judgment this past week.

This game is easily the best implementation of the brawler combat system that they have been working with from the beginning. Yagami being able to easily switch between the different stances, abilities transferring between the three styles, the improvement on the crane style, and just how smooth all of the actions flow has been incredible. Since Jeff and I tend to play through these games together, we are currently playing the game on hard and I’ve actually been able to keep up with the combat. I’m just waiting for that moment when we hit a real rough boss fight and then I’ll let Jeff deal with that.

Anytime we are playing through the latest RGG Studios game, my eyes are on constant food watch. Lost Judgment hits you with food right away during the opening sequence. Yagami and Kaito are sitting with a client in their van discussing a job they are in the middle of. During this conversation, Yagami is just munching away on anpan. I knew this would be the first Lost Judgment recipe on the site.

I am a huge fan of filled bread and anpan is just that. Delicious soft bread filled with delish ogura-an (sweetened red bean). While testing this recipe, I had to make two batches because of some minor issues but both were delicious. Now I have like a week’s worth of breakfast for Jeff and I. This recipe will require a bit of patience but I think this is one of the more easily achievable filled bun recipes on the site. The dough is extremely easy to work with and because they are baked, I found that they don’t split open too easily.

Tangzhong
3 tbsp bread flour
⅓ cup milk

Dough
⅔ cup milk, heated to 100°F
1 tbsp instant yeast
2 ¼ cups bread flour
¼ cup cake flour
2 tsp salt
5 tbsp sugar
1 egg
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

Egg wash
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

Assembly
585 g ogura-an (sweetened red bean)
black sesame seeds

Start by making the tangzhong. Place bread flour and milk in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and whisk until it comes together, about 1 minute. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Combine the yeast and milk and let it rest for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to become active. Combine the bread flour, cake flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer. Add the tangzhong, milk, and egg to the bowl and mix until it just comes together.

While the dough begins to knead, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. If it is too dry, add one tablespoon of milk at a time.

Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rest for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. Once doubled, punch down and knead. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. Shape into round balls and place on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Take one of the round portions and roll out to a 4 to 5 inch circle. Make sure the center of the dough is a bit thicker than the edges. Place 65 grams of ogura-an in the center. Wrap the dough around the ogura-an and pinch the edges together.

Once pinched shut, flip the dough (seam side down) and gently rub on a countertop to help seal and smooth out the bottom. Keep an eye on it and pinch any open seams as you do this. Place back on the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining portions. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

TPreheat an oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, whisk an egg and 2 tablespoons of milk. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet and brush each of the buns with egg wash. Sprinkle a generous portion of black sesame seeds on the center of the bun. Place in the oven and bake for 16 to 19 minutes or until golden brown.

Print Recipe

Anpan

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• 3 tbsp bread flour
• ⅓ cup milk

Dough

• ⅔ cup milk heated to 100°F
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 2 ¼ cups bread flour
• ¼ cup cake flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup unsalted butter softened

Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk

Assembly

• 585 g ogura-an sweetened red bean
• black sesame seeds

Instructions

• Start by making the tangzhong. Place bread flour and milk in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and whisk until it comes together, about 1 minute. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• Combine the yeast and milk and let it rest for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to become active. Combine the bread flour, cake flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer. Add the tangzhong, milk, and egg to the bowl and mix until it just comes together.
• While the dough begins to knead, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. If it is too dry, add one tablespoon of milk at a time.
• Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rest for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. Once doubled, punch down and knead. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. Shape into round balls and place on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Take one of the round portions and roll out to a 4 to 5 inch circle. Make sure the center of the dough is a bit thicker than the edges. Place 65 grams of ogura-an in the center. Wrap the dough around the ogura-an and pinch the edges together.
• Once pinched shut, flip the dough (seam side down) and gently rub on a countertop to help seal and smooth out the bottom. Keep an eye on it and pinch any open seams as you do this. Place back on the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining portions. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Preheat an oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, whisk an egg and 2 tablespoons of milk. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet and brush each of the buns with egg wash. Sprinkle a generous portion of black sesame seeds on the center of the bun. Place in the oven and bake for 16 to 19 minutes or until golden brown.