Keroppi Buns

- July 08, 2020

Did you all try making frog bread during the quarantine? Pictures of frog bread were going viral and with good reason, because frog breads brighten anyone’s day! My friend, Christine, challenged me to make frog bread. It turned out looking weird, but it was cute and delicious. We ate it for breakfast for several days. Christine then challenged me to make matcha frog bread. Challenge accepted! I proceeded to come up with a recipe for Keroppi buns! My sister and I loved everything Sanrio growing up. I remember collecting Keroppi stickers to put in my sticker albums.

I decorated the buns with Ghiradelli white vanilla flavored melting wafers, melted chocolate, and a pink icing tube. It’s ok to save time with ready made products because busy moms need all the help they can get, right?

Another easy trick to proof dough is to use your microwave as a “proofing drawer.” Heat 1 cup of water in your microwave for 2 minutes. Put your dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Place the bowl in the microwave and close the door. It’s a great warm closed place to proof your dough!

This recipe is easy and the kids can help add the ingredients to the bowl and decorate later too. Enjoy making your own frog bread and keroppi buns! Share your goodies to brighten anyone’s day!

Keroppi Buns

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm whole milk

1 large egg (room temperature)

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons matcha powder

7 drops green food coloring (optional)

Simple syrup (optional): 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

16 Ghiradelli White Vanilla Flavored Melting Wafers

1/4 cup chocolate chips melted (I microwaved for 20 second bursts until melted)

Pink icing (I used Wilton Pink Decorating Icing)

Directions

In the bowl of a mixer, add the milk, egg, sugar, bread flour, salt, matcha powder, and green food coloring. Add the yeast to the bowl on one side away from the salt and matcha. Use the dough hook attachment, and switch on the mixer to “stir.” Knead for 10 minutes in the mixer. Stop the mixer occasionally to push the dough down from the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If the dough looks too sticky, add a spoonful of flour.

After 10 minutes of mixing, the dough is ready to proof. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour-1.5 hours. You can proof the dough in the oven or see my tip for proofing in the microwave above.

While waiting, line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

After an hour of proofing, shape the dough into 8 equal size pieces. Roll each piece in your hands to form 8 round buns. Place on parchment lined cookie tray. Once shaped, let the dough proof for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven, and brush the buns with the simple syrup to make them shine!

Allow to cool. Decorate the buns with the Ghiradelli white vanilla wafers. You can stick 2 wafers on a bun with the icing or even peanut butter! Use a toothpick to dip into the melted chocolate, and paint on 2 eyeballs and a mouth. Add cheeks with the pink decorator icing. Repeat for all the buns. Enjoy!