Scallion Bread is a staple item sold at most Chinese bakeries you come across. My favorite place in San Francisco to get them is Sunset Bakery in the Inner Sunset District. There they add bits of ham to their scallion buns which are, in my opinion, the ne plus ultra: incredibly delicious, super soft and beautifully browned. Since they're so easy to buy I never really thought of making it at home, that is, until I saw this post on Healthy Nibbles blog. Lisa's bread looked exactly like Sunset Bakery's so I had to give it a try for myself.
The dough uses tangzhong, or a roux made of milk and flour, which gives the baked bread a lovely, soft texture. In my experience any bread using this technique always turns out amazing. The main modifications I made to Lisa's recipe were to replace the water in the tangzhong with milk, use instant yeast and add pieces of chopped ham.
I made the recipe twice in a week so trust me when I say it's a good one. The first time I shaped the dough into a very large four-strand braid. For the second I shaped it into smaller knots because I wanted individual portions. You wouldn't believe how excited I was that the bread turned out completely authentic! Another plus is that it freezes beautifully so I can enjoy this yummy treat anytime I want.
