This eggless wool bread with red bean paste is made with an easy milk bread base that makes the bread look Instagram worthy, pillowy soft, and tastes amazing with springy texture!
Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the warm milk and give it a stir. Set it aside to let the yeast dissolve and activate.
In the mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt. Give everything a good stir to combine. While stirring with the dough hook (or chopsticks or fork), drizzle the boiling hot water into the flour to partially cook the dough. Let the flour mixture cool for a couple minutes until it's warm to the touch.
Once the flour has cooled and the yeast has dissolved, add the milk with dissolved yeast into the flour. Mix the dough on medium low speed with the dough hook attachment until the dough has roughly come together, about 2 to 3 minutes. Next, add the softened butter and knead on medium high speed until the dough is elastic, supple, and passes the window pane test*, about 10 to 15 minutes. Smooth the dough into a ball and cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or damp towel. Let the dough proof in a warm area for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.*Window pane test is a way to determine if a dough has developed enough gluten. Refer to the post for a picture reference and more detail!*
After the dough has doubled, punch it down and knead it back into its original size by folding the edges into the center. Transfer the dough onto a clean work surface and divide it into 5 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let the dough balls rest for about 3-5 minutes to relax the gluten.
Meanwhile, line the bottom of a deep 8 inch circle cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pan with butter. Set aside until needed.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the dough into an oblong shape, about 8 to 10 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide. It should be about ⅛ inch thick. With the dough facing you vertically, make length-wise cuts from the middle of the dough to the top edge, keeping each cut about ⅛ inch apart. You can use a bowl scraper, bench scraper, or knife.*Highly recommend referring to the post for picture references to this step! It'll be super helpful!*
On the non-cut side of the dough (the bottom half), place about 2-3 Tablespoons of the red bean paste* in the center. Fold the sides and bottom of the dough onto the red bean paste, then tuck and roll the dough like you're rolling a burrito. Try to be gentle when you roll the dough, especially when you get to the cut portion to prevent the nice cuts from getting smushed. Repeat with remaining dough balls.*Depending on what kind of red bean paste you're using, you can use more or less. We really like using tsubuan (chunky red bean paste), which is a little looser than the classic anko (smooth red bean paste).*
Arrange the shaped wool breads into the prepared cake pan. Cover the cake pan with a plastic wrap or damp towel and let it proof in a warm area for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough nearly doubles.
Once the wool roll bread is almost doubled, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Brush the tops of the wool roll bread with milk (or a beaten egg with a splash of milk) and bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the interior registers 190°F.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Flip the bread out of the cake pan and let it cool until warm before enjoying.
Notes
Because the magic of wool bread lies in the way it's shaped, we highly recommend referring to our post above for picture reference that'll guide you in shaping the dough.
We filled our wool bread with red bean paste because it's one of our favorite fillings. Feel free to sub it for your favorite filling! But if you're a big fan of red bean pastes, do check out our homemade red bean paste recipe! It's much less sweet, tastes just as flavorful, if not better, and takes less than an hour to make.
Also, if you're looking for a way to make wool bread without a mixer (and almost no kneading needed!), refer to the post above! It's my favorite way when I'm without a mixer or have time to take it slow.