A Homebaker who recently ventured into the art of breadmaking, Surabhi Bajaj, shows us the recipe of her Stuffed Buns with Whole Wheat Flour and all the healthy ingredients!
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STUFFED WHOLE-WHEAT BUNS (with Italian filling)
TIME REQUIRED- For cooking: 45 mins, For proofing: 1.5 hours
Ingredients:
For the buns (yields 6 standard or 10 medium sized buns):
· 1 tsp yeast
· 1 tsp honey
· 1 cup + 2-3 tbsp water
· 2 cup + 2tbsp whole wheat flour (WWF)
· 1 tsp salt
· 3 tbsp milk powder
· 3 tbsp oil (any odorless oil – I have used sunflower oil)
· 1 tbsp sesame seeds
For the filling:
· 1 medium-sized onion
· 4-5 pods garlic
· 2 tbsp boiled corn kernels
· 2 tbsp boiled and chopped spinach
· 1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
· 1 tbsp whole-wheat flour
· 1/4 cup milk
· 1-2 small cubes of regular cheese chopped
· 1 tsp mixed Italian seasoning
· 1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
· 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
· Salt to taste
· 75-100 gms chopped mozzarella cheese cubes
· 2 tbsp butter
Note: 1 cup = 240 ml
This recipe has three building blocks
1. Tangzhong* or water-roux (a slurry flour paste for the dough),
2. The dough itself
3. And the filling
*this technique pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour and makes it absorb more water resulting in a softer bread.
TANGZHONG
We will begin with making the Tangzhong. In a thick bottom pan, add 2 tbsp flour and 1/2 cup water and cook it on low flame. Keep stirring continuously for 1 min or until the mixture thickens. Once thickens, remove from flame and let it cool.
PROOFING THE YEAST
Now, work on proofing the yeast. Take 1/2 cup of warm water (shouldn’t be too hot else it would kill the yeast), mix it with 1 tbsp honey (you can use sugar also) and add 1 tsp instant dry yeast. Cover it and leave for 10 mins. After 10 mins, you’d see that the yeast mixture has nicely bubbled up. In case it hasn’t, discard this mix and re-do the steps to make the yeast mix. A well raised yeast is critical to a well raised dough.
MAKING THE DOUGH
In a large bowl, take 2 cups WWF, add 1 tsp salt, and 3 tbsp milk powder. Mix it well. Then, add the flour paste that we made in the first step followed by the yeast mix. Combine this dough. If needed add 2-3 tbsp water. Now we will knead this dough for 15-20 mins – this is the most important step for making a soft bread.
Grease the counter, sprinkle some flour, and move your dough on it. Start kneading the dough by stretching and folding. Add oil bit by bit as needed. Be patient and keep kneading for at least 15 mins. You will get a soft supple dough at the end.
Now grease a big bowl and keep the dough. Brush with a little oil and cover it. Leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
PREPARING THE FILLING
While the dough rises, we will prepare the filling. For this recipe I have used Italian filling, you can change it to paneer/potato/any other stuffing as per your preference.
Place a pan on low flame, add 1 tbsp butter (or olive oil), add chopped onions, followed by garlic, cook till they are translucent (not brown), then add the mushrooms, cook on high until the water released gets dried, then add 1.5 tsbp flour, cook for while (don’t let it brown), then add 1/4 cup milk and mix well. Now add corn kernels, spinach, salt, pepper and seasoning (be careful with the salt as cheese and mushroom have salt of their own).
Now add the processed cheese chunks. And mix it. Cook until the mix thickens. Since we want to stuff this mixture, we are looking for thick manageable stuffing. Once done, let it cool.
Prepare your baking tray by lining it with parchment paper and greasing it.
STUFFING THE BUNS
After one hour, you’d notice that the dough would have doubled in size. Lightly grease your hands and the counter again, and move the dough there. Divide it into ten (or 6) equal parts with a knife and shape them as balls. Sprinkle some flour and roll each ball slightly to form a cup (you can do it on your hand too), stuff 1 spoon of filling, add 3-4 pieces of mozzarella cheese and seal the balls by pinching the edges. Roll them into a sphere again on your palm. Place them on the baking tray with the seamed edges at the bottom. Do this for all the balls.
BAKING
Cover the tray with a dry kitchen towel and let it sit for second proofing for 30 mins. After 30 mins, pre-heat the oven for 10 mins at 200c. Brush some water on top of the dough balls, sprinkle sesame seeds and bake at 20-25 mins at 200c, after which the buns will turn golden brown on top. Once done, brush them with melted butter and cover with a damp cloth allowing to cool.
Our super soft stuffed buns are ready. Enjoy!
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