This month The Avid Baker’s Challenge group decided that with the scarcity of baking supplies, we’re free to choose whatever recipe we want from the Great British Bake Off site. I browsed around and zeroed in on Blueberry Buns with Honey Glaze (aka: Kate’s Blueberry Buns).
The photos on the GBBO site show perfectly shaped buns with dots of blueberries – beautiful. Mine, however….came out a little differently.
The buns came out looking a little strange because I used frozen blueberries. If you use frozen blueberries, definitely let them thaw and then drain them. Pat them dry at least twice with paper towels before adding to the dough.
If you don’t get the blueberries dry enough, after you add them it will make for a very wet dough. That means you can’t shape them into the beautiful little buns like the on-line photos. Example of a not-round, but very tasty blueberry bun:
The dough for these buns is just glorious – it’s soft and easy to manipulate. The combination of cinnamon and cardamom make your kitchen smell just like you’ve walked into a bakery!
American’s don’t use cardamom much and I did use less than the recipe calls for (adjusted in the recipe below). It’s a rather strong, almost lightly peppery spice to me.
Cardamom is fragrant, but can be overpowering if you use too much. If you don’t have cardamom or don’t want to pay the premium bucks for it, just use a little more cinnamon.
These Blueberry Buns with Honey Glaze are delicious. Barely sweet, wonderful texture, and great flavor with dots of blueberries. Finish them off with a light brush of the contrasting sweet honey glaze and you have a great blueberry bun.
The original recipe recommends toasting them for breakfast and serving with whipped cinnamon butter and blueberry jam. I sliced and toasted one this morning and dabbed it with a little melted butter. Wonderful with fresh, strong coffee!
I hope you’ll try these. It’s kind of a fun bun to put together and it’s a good use for those upcoming summer blueberries.
Blueberry Buns with Honey Glaze
Barely sweet yeast buns filled with blueberries and finished with a lightly brushed-on honey glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 C (300 ml) whole milk
- 4 tbsp (50 g) butter, softened and diced
- 3 1/2 C (500 g) bread flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (75 g) granulated sugar
- 1 pkg (7 g) Rapid Rise dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 C (150 g) dried blueberries
- 1/2 C (100 ml) hot water
- Glaze:
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp boiling water
Instructions
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make the dough: Heat the milk in a glass bowl in the microwave until it's steaming hot (about 30-45 seconds). Add the softened butter bits and stir until melted. Leave to cool until lukewarm (about 110°).
- Put the flour in a stand mixer bowl and fit with a dough hook. Add the salt and sugar and mix on low. Sprinkle the yeast into the bowl, mix on low until completely combined. Add the cardamom and cinnamon and stir on low for about five seconds until evenly distributed.
- Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the lukewarm milk/butter mixture and the beaten egg. On low speed, gradually mix everything together. It will be a very soft and rather sticky dough.
- Lightly flour your counter or marble and turn out the dough onto it. With floured hands, knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes, adding a bit (tsp) of flour occasionally if needed so it doesn't stick to the board. Dough will be stretchy, elastic, and firmer.
- Spray a large bowl lightly with cooking spray. Dump the dough in the bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap. Leave to rise in a warm-ish place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, soak the dried blueberries in the hot water for 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly in a sieve. Pour them out onto paper towels and spread them out to dry. Pat with clean paper towels until completely dry. (Trust me, you don't want wet blueberries or your dough will be slimy).
- Punch down the risen dough, then turn it out on a lightly floured counter or marble. Scatter the very dry blueberries over the dough, then very gently knead the dough 4 to 5 minutes until the blueberries are evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion gently into a neat ball, making sure there are no blueberries poking out. Gently flatten the balls to make round 3 1/2 inch (9 cm) disks. Space them, 6 on each baking sheet, well apart and cover loosely with cling wrap. Leave to rise 20 to 25 minutes, until almost doubled in size. At the 15 minute mark, preheat the oven to 400° (200° C). Adjust the racks in your oven so you can put both pans in at the same time.
- Bake the buns for about 20 minutes until deep golden brown, rotating the baking sheets half way through the baking. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. While the buns are still hot, mix the honey with the boiling water and lightly brush the glaze over the buns. Leave to cool completely.
- Serving recommendation - split the buns horizontally and toast under the broiler. Serve with butter and/or jam.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
I used 2% milk - worked fine. Original calls for unsalted butter and 1 tsp salt, but I used salted and 3/4 tsp salt.
Make sure the milk/butter mixture is lukewarm before adding it to the flour mixture so it will activate the yeast.
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, but I thought that was too much. Use what you like or substitute all cinnamon for it.
The original recipe also has instructions for blueberry compote and cinnamon butter. Follow the link in the first paragraph if you'd like to make those. I didn't!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 bunAmount Per Serving: Calories: 170Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 163mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 5g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
