If youโre a coffee lover and a fan of freshly baked bread, youโre in for a treat! Meet the Coffee Bunsโa soft, buttery bread roll topped with a crisp, aromatic coffee crust that fills your kitchen with the irresistible scent of freshly brewed coffee as it bakes.
Where do these lovely buns come from?
Originating from popular Asian bakeries like Rotiboy and PappaRoti, these buns have become a favourite for their perfect combination of flavours and textures: a slightly sweet, fluffy interior encasing a melting butter core, all topped with a crunchy, caramelised coffee topping.
In this recipe, Iโll guide you through creating these delicious buns at home, capturing that bakery-quality magic right in your own oven. Whether youโre enjoying them for breakfast, as a midday snack, or with your favourite cup of coffee, these buns are guaranteed to delight your senses and become a new favourite in your home baking repertoire. Letโs dive in and make some coffee buns that are sure to impress!
Why you’ll love this Coffee Bun recipe
- Irresistible Coffee Aroma: The coffee-flavored topping gives off an incredible aroma while baking, filling the kitchen with a rich, inviting scent that coffee lovers will adore.
- Perfect Combination of Crunchy and Soft: The contrast between the crisp, sweet coffee-flavoured crust and the soft, buttery interior creates a delightful texture thatโs satisfying with every bite.
- Buttery Surprise Filling: The hidden cube of butter inside each bun melts during baking, creating a rich, velvety filling that pairs perfectly with the slightly sweet and aromatic topping.
- Great for Breakfast or Snack: These buns are versatile and can be enjoyed at any time of the day. Theyโre perfect for a quick breakfast, a delicious snack, or even a comforting dessert with your favorite cup of coffee.
- Customizable Topping: Readers can get creative by adding cocoa, cinnamon, or even a hint of vanilla to the coffee topping. This makes it easy to cater to different flavor preferences or to experiment with unique twists.
- Easy to Follow: The recipe is straightforward and beginner-friendly. The step-by-step instructions ensure that even novice bakers can achieve a bakery-style result at home.
If you love this recipe, please also check out my Coffee Chiffon Cake (Video), or my other coffee recipes like Coffee Almond Cookies or Coffee Walnut Loaf Cake. They are my all time favourites.
Ingredients for coffee buns
- Bread flour: It has a higher protein content (usually around 12-14%) compared to all-purpose flour. This higher protein level results in more gluten formation, giving the bread a chewy texture, structure, and strength.
- Caster sugar: It is finer than regular granulated sugar, dissolves more quickly in the dough. Sugar not only adds a slight sweetness to the bread but also acts as food for the yeast, encouraging it to ferment and produce carbon dioxide.
- Milk: It adds moisture, richness, and a subtle sweetness to the dough. It also contributes to the softness and tenderness of the bread crumb.
- Milk powder: It provides additional richness and a creamy flavour to the dough without adding extra liquid.
- Yeast: It is the leavening agent that causes the dough to rise.
- Unsalted butter: It adds flavour, richness, and a tender crumb to the bread. It also acts as a tenderiser, coating the flour proteins and preventing them from forming too much gluten. This results in a softer, less chewy texture.
Ingredients for the coffee bun topping
- Egg: It acts as a binding agent, helping to hold all the ingredients together.
- All-purpose flour: It provides structure to the coffee topping.
- Instant coffee: It is the key ingredient that gives the topping its distinct coffee flavour and aroma. It dissolves easily in a small amount of hot water, ensuring that the coffee flavour is evenly distributed throughout the topping mixture. Make sure to use your favourite one!
Watch my Coffee Buns video tutorial
Pin these Coffee Buns for later
Coffee Buns (Roti Boy)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 Buns 1x
- Category: afternoon tea, breakfast
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Dive into deliciousness with these coffee-infused buns! Fluffy milk bread envelopes pockets of melty butter, all topped with a sweet and crunchy coffee cookie crumble.
Ingredients
Bread Dough
- 200 grams bread flour
- 30 grams caster sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 3 grams instant dry yeast
- 20 grams unsalted butter
- 150 millilitres warm milk
- 12 grams milk powder
Filling
- 60 grams salted butter (frozen, cut into 6 x 10 g cubes)
Coffee Bun Topping
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 35 grams caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 60 grams all purpose flour
- 4 grams coffee powder
- 6 grams hot water
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Place the flour, caster sugar, salt, yeast and milk powder in the mixer bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well and create a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk.
- Start kneading the dough with a dough hook attachment at medium speed for about 5 minutes.
- When the dough comes together, add in the softened butter, a little at a time.
- Continue to knead the dough for a further 3 to 5 minutes or until it passes the windowpane test. This involves taking a small piece of dough and gently stretching it until it is thin enough to see light through it, without it tearing.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with cling film. Place it in a warm place for the first proof until it doubles in size. It should take between 1 to 2 hours.
- Remove the cling film, sprinkle some flour on top of the proofed dough. Knock out the air and transfer it to a lightly flour-dusted surface. Knead the dough for around 3 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces using a kitchen scale, around 68g each.
- Shape each dough into a ball and place it on a lined baking pan, 2โ apart.
- Cover with a tea towel and rest for 10 minutes.
- Flatten one piece at a time on a work surface. Take a frozen butter cube and carefully wrap it with the dough, making a little parcel. Pinch the ends tightly to avoid butter leaking out during baking. Repeat the same process for the other 5 pieces.
- Cover with a tea towel for the second proof until they almost double in size. This may take between 30 minutes and 2 hours (the frozen butter can slow down the process but be patient!).
Prepare and apply the coffee topping
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180ยฐC/355ยฐF.
- Dissolve the coffee in the hot water. Set aside to cool down.
- Whisk the egg. Set it aside.
- Cream the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl, start with a spatula, then mix with a hand held mixer until pale and fluffy.
- Continue to mix and add in the beaten egg, little by little, until they are well combined.
- Add in the cooled coffee mixture and continue to mix.
- Sift in the flour and fold into the mixture (start with a spatula to prevent the flour flying up).
- Continue to mix until everything is well mixed.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag and secure with a rubber band or clip. If youโre not ready to use it, place the bag in the fridge until needed.
- Uncover the proofed buns. Cut a hole at the top of the piping bag and pipe swirls of the coffee topping over the top of the buns until it covers around half of the buns (donโt worry about neatness, the swirls will smooth together during cooking – but try not to leave gaps).
- Then bake the buns for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.
- Enjoy while still warm – absolutely delicious!ย
Notes
- Watch my video tutorial to see how I made these buns in action.ย
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bun
- Calories: 279kcal
- Sugar: 13.1g
- Sodium: 103mg
- Fat: 10.7g
- Saturated Fat: 6.1g
- Carbohydrates: 38.8g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 7.2g
- Cholesterol: 86mg
Iโd love to hear from you! If you try this Coffee Bun recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and a review below. Your feedback helps others discover and enjoy this recipe too! If you have any questions, tips, or creative twists, feel free to share them in the commentsโIโm always excited to see how your baking turns out!
Keep Baking!
