To make the dough:
- Place 2 cups of lukewarm water into a mixing bowl.
- Add 4 Tablespoons white sugar, 4 teaspoons yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, and stir it well.
- Add 4 cups of flour (2 cups white, 2 cups wholemeal) and mix it with a rice scoop, or by hand.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After an hour the dough will rise to double its size. Knead it to remove the gas bubbles in the dough.
- Let the dough rise for another 10-20 minutes.
To make the filling:
- Mix ½ cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder in a bowl.
To make the hotteok:
- Knead the dough again to remove the gas bubbles.
- Spread about ½ cup flour on your cutting board.
- Put the dough on the cutting board and knead it. Make it into a lump, and cut it into 16 equal-sized balls.
- Take 1 dough ball, flatten it, put some filling in the center of the dough, and then seal it to make a ball.
- Repeat this 16 times to make 16 stuffed balls.
*tip: Use some flour from the cutting board to prevent your fingers from sticking to the dough - Heat up your non-stick pan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil.
- Place 4 balls in the pan and let them cook for 30 seconds.
- When the bottom of the dough ball is light golden brown, turn it over and press the dough with a spatula to make a thin and wide circle (about the size of a CD).
- Let them cook about 1 minute until the bottom is golden brown.
- Turn them over again and cook for another minute
Make these in advance, then put them in the toaster to reheat and turn the filling to a gooey syrup