How to make turtle buns from 'Yakitate!! Japan'

Yakitate!! Japan is a 2004 anime based on a manga series serialized from 2002 to 2007.

It tells the story of Kazuma Azuma, a young man on a quest to create "ja-pan" or a national bread for Japan.

Aside from his innovative baking skills, he has also been blessed with the so-called "solar hands" or hands that are warmer than normal which makes any dough he touches to ferment faster.

In the 16th episode of the anime, Azuma is tasked to create a bread that will appeal to both women and children. He then produces an adorable green turtle bread.

Food vlogger Anime Kitchen interpreted the green turtle bread to be a matcha milk bun.

Here's how to make it.

Ingredients

For the buns:
1 egg
180 ml warm milk
50 grams maltose sugar syrup
30 grams matcha powder
5 grams yeast
15 grams milk powder
320 grams bread flour
80 grams all-purpose flour
30 grams unsalted butter
2 grams salt

Cookie:
50 grams butter
1 egg
130 grams all-purpose flour
30 grams sugar
15 grams matcha
Melted chocolate

Procedure
1. Combine yeast and warm milk and leave aside for 5 minutes
2. Mix egg, milk and maltose syrup in a bowl
3. Once mixed, add in the milk and yeast mixture
4. Sift bread and all-purpose flour then add the milk powder and salt
5. Add the wet ingredients then stir until it forms a dough
6. Knead the dough for 5 minutes or until smooth
7. Cover the dough and let it rest for an hour to double in size
8. Once the dough has risen, let the air out and cut into quarters
9. Create the turtle shape by using a bigger piece of dough for the body then attaching smaller pieces for the head and legs
10. Combine all the ingredients for the cookie in a bowl then knead into a dough
11. Shape the dough into a disc then let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
12. Once rested, roll into 5 mm thickness
13. Cut the dough into discs a little bigger than the turtle body
14. Score the dough to create the turtle shell pattern
15. Top the turtle body with the cookie shell
16. Then place into an oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
17. Let the turtle buns cool before decorating the shell lines and face with the melted chocolate

Watch how matcha turtle buns inspired by 'Yakitate!! Japan is made here:

Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves.

It is rich in theanine, an amino acid which is said to have stress-reducing effect. It is also high in caffeine.

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