Soak and cook the beans:

Soak red beans in water for 2 hours. Drain and cook in a rice cooker with slightly more water than usual (porridge mode). Cook until the beans are very soft and water is mostly gone, with just a little remaining at the bottom.

Cook into a paste:

Transfer the beans to a nonstick pan. Add 20g sugar, 20g softened butter, and 10g condensed milk. Stir over low heat for about 3 minutes until the paste forms a soft, slightly moist ball. Cool and divide into 40g balls.

Note: Do not overcook the paste or it will become too dry and hard when cool.

Mix the ingredients:

In a bowl, combine 200g bread flour, 2.5g yeast, 2.5g salt, and 20g sugar. Add 20g egg, 70g milk, and 40g water (reserve 10g). Stir with chopsticks until no dry flour remains. The dough will be sticky.

First hydration:

Cover the bowl and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then fold the dough inward a few times. Cover again and rest for 20 minutes.

Second hydration:

Repeat the fold → rest 20-minute step two more times. After the final rest, the dough will be smooth with some elasticity.

Add butter:

Add 20g softened butter to the dough. Knead it in by hand (in portions if needed) for 2–3 minutes until fully absorbed and no longer sticky.

Hand-knead:

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead gently using a fold-and-press motion for 3 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should stretch into a thick membrane. (No need for a thin windowpane—this is beginner-friendly.)

First fermentation

Shape dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place at 30°C for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Test with a floured finger: if a dent stays, it's ready.

Divide and rest:

Lightly deflate dough and divide into 6 portions (about 62g each). Shape into balls, cover, and rest for 20 minutes.

Wrap the filling:

Flatten each ball into a circle with a thicker center. Place 40g of red bean paste in the center. Gather the edges and pinch to seal. Roll gently and place seam side down on a baking tray with 2cm space between buns.

Second proof:

Let the buns rise in a 32°C, 75% humidity environment (e.g., in an oven with a bowl of hot water) for 30 minutes until 1.5 times larger and smooth on top.

Decorate and bake:

Brush the tops with egg wash (egg + 1 tsp water). Dip one end of a rolling pin in the egg wash, then in black sesame seeds. Stamp the seeds onto the bun tops.

Preheat oven to 190°C top / 180°C bottom, bake for 15 minutes in the middle rack. Cover with foil if browning too fast in the last 3 minutes.