Thousand-layer almond bun

Soften the butter and add the powdered sugar, mixing and stirring until well combined.

Add the beaten eggs and mix evenly.

Add cake flour.

Mix until it forms a smooth dough.

Place the dough on plastic wrap and roll it into a rectangular sheet. Next, start making the bread.

Mix all the dough ingredients except for the butter. Knead until the dough is smooth and the gluten develops, then add the softened butter. Continue kneading until the dough reaches the stretch stage where it can form a thin and elastic membrane.

Roll the dough into a ball and place it in a container, then put it in a warm place for the initial fermentation.

Let the dough rise until it is 2.5 times its original size. Dip your finger in flour and poke a hole in the dough. If the hole does not shrink or collapse, the fermentation is complete.

Take out the fermented dough, press it to release the air, and cover it with plastic wrap to rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out the relaxed dough into a rectangular sheet, with an area more than twice the size needed to enclose the filling.

Place the dough wrapped with filling in the center of the dough sheet.

Wrap the dough, pinch the closing edge tightly, and roll it out along the long direction (as shown by the arrow).

Fold one-third from the right toward the center, and fold one-third from the left.

Complete the first three-fold.

Roll out again in the direction of the arrow.

Fold 1/3 from the left, then fold 1/3 from the right, completing the second three-fold. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Roll it out again into a long rectangular piece, about 1cm thick.

Use a mold with a diameter of about 7-10 cm to press out small dough pieces. The shape can be arbitrary, even cutting them into squares is fine.

The shaped bread dough is neatly arranged on the baking tray, and the scraps can be freely kneaded into balls and baked together.

Let the dough ferment a second time until it doubles in size, brush the surface with egg wash, and sprinkle with almond slices.

Place in a preheated oven and bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes until the surface turns golden brown.