For the longest time I thought these Okazu breads were “bacon epee” and I imagined people dueling with them like swords. Apparently they are bacon “epi”, which possibly means “sheave of wheat”, which makes more sense considering the shape. There is no way I will be able to recreate the perfectly crisp outer crust, soft innards, and delicious bacon from Japanese Pan-ya at home….but I need something to tide me over. So I broke down and tried a combination of these two recipes:
Ingredients: http://www.diamondsfordessert.com/2011/10/bacon-epi.html
Method (including extra “rest” of 15 minutes after first one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpkoNC7pHso Plus, the dude in this 6 minute video is pretty silly.
And you can see the result. I did put a pan of water at the bottom of my oven when baking. I also think next time I might either a) use canadian bacon or b) prebake the bacon a bit as the oil coming out of them softened the baguette a little, and i’m a tad bit worried that the bacon cooked enough not to cause food poisoning (I ate it anyway, so not that worried)
I’ll have to make it again and add thyme or dill to the dough!
What I Should Have Said 