Soak the beans overnight or at least for 6 hours in cold water
After the beans have soaked for long enough, rinse them and place in a saucepan, add enough water to cover them
Bring water to a boil over medium heat and once boiling drain the beans, add fresh water and bring it to a boil again
Once boiling leave the beans to simmer for 1 hour, keep an eye on them and top up with water when needed
Beans are done when you can easily squish them between your fingers
When the beans are done, reserve some water and put the beans into a food processor with 35 grams of sugar (add water when processing if it looks too thick, it should look like a smooth paste)
Put the paste back into a dry saucepan and put it on medium heat to reduce liquid, take it out and place it into a container where the paste will continue to thicken a bit more as it cools down
Start making the dough by placing 30 ml of water into a saucepan over low medium heat, stir in bread flour and mix until it's a runny paste
Slowly pour in 30 ml of milk and whisk everything until it thickens up like a pudding then take it off the heat
Place the mixture into a container and cover it with cling film to allow to cool down to room temperature
In a separate bowl mix lukewarm milk (65 ml), 1 tsp of sugar and yeast – leave it for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast
When you see that a foamy layer has formed, add milk powder, remaining sugar, water and flour mixture, half of beaten egg, rest of the flour, some salt and mix everything well until a dough forms (best to use a stand mixer)
Once the dough starts forming start adding butter in parts until fully incorporated and continue to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic
Place the dough into lightly greased bowl and cover it to rise in warm place for 1 hour (it might take longer until it doubles in size if it isn't too warm)
Grease a loaf pan and dust it with flour
Take the dough out and divide it into three parts, roll each part into a square about 1-2cm thick and spread a layer of red bean paste onto each square
Roll up the square and tuck in each end underneath so it forms a small oval shape loaf and place it into a loaf pan
Cover the loaves with a towel and leave them to rise for about 1 hour in a warm place
Preheat your oven to 200 °C/180 °C fan/ gas 6
Once the dough has risen again, brush the top with the remaining beaten egg mixture, sprinkle some sesame seeds and sugar pearls on top
Bake for 25 minutes (check halfway through and if the top is browning too much cover with foil)
Leave the loaves in the tin for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to allow to cool completely
