Maple Brick Toast

Maple Brick Toast is an easy and satisfying tea snack served at modern Taiwanese tea shops.  Here in LA, it’s a pretty popular treat, an Asian take on the westernized ingredient of maple syrup.  Nothing too fussy, just a very thick piece of Asian White Bread slathered with a creamy maple-butter spread that is then toasted in the oven.

What makes this treat distinctly Asian is the texture of the bread.  Asian breads commonly use a water-roux, also called a tangzhong, to add moisture and softness to breads.  For this recipe, I’ve made my own Asian White Bread using an altered version of my Honeyed BBQ Pork Bun Dough Recipe.

If you don’t live by a place where you can score some Asian-style white bread, then you can also use a Pan De Mie (also called a Pullman Loaf).  It’s most ideal to get a loaf that hasn’t been cut into yet, so that you can cut it into 1 1/2 inch thick slices yourself.  And if you can’t find a loaf of Pan De Mie, then a milk-based soft-textured white bread will work here too, just try to get one that you can slice yourself.

The thickness of the slice of bread is the only thing that makes this snack brick-like–the texture of the bread should actually be very soft and light.  Also, by scoring the bread about a 1/2 inch down, the maple-butter mixture is able to melt down deeper into the bread, allowing it to soak in all that pure maple goodness.

This is a tea treat that you can really sink your teeth into.  Be generous with the maple syrup here, and try to use a good-quality maple syrup, as the bread will act like a sponge.  Maple brick toast is really satisfying with a cup minimally flavored black tea, like a Darjeeling or Earl Grey.

For best results, slather the maple-butter mixture thickly and evenly on the bread pieces

Maple Brick Toast

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 slices of Asian White Bread, Pan De Mie, or Pullman Loaf (sliced 1 1/2 ” thick)

4 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 Tbsp milk powder

4 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1/4 tsp salt

Equipment:

pastry brush

Directions:

1.)  In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp of maple syrup, sugar, milk powder, butter, and salt until the mixture is evenly mixed.

2.)  Slather pieces of bread evenly with the mixture, then score the each piece twice vertically and twice horizontally (like a tic-tac-toe sign) about a 1/2″ deep from the bread’s surface.

3.)  Broil in oven for about 4 minutes, or until the butter has melted and the bread has become a rich, medium brown.  Brush the pieces with the remaining 2 Tbsp of maple syrup.  Serve immediately.

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