Stuffed Buns

Bun is a type of small bread, mostly they are hand-sized or smaller, dome in shape with a flat bottom. Different types are available but it is usually made of flour, sugar, milk, oil / butter yeast. Sometimes topped with an icing and sometimes stuffed with some fillings. Stuffed Buns are perfect home-made snacks which have a light and airy texture. The fillings are absolutely versatile, so you can make it for vegetarian by using paneer/potato/mixed-vegetables or non-vegetarian way that I will share here. I used a chicken-potato filling.

I had a plan to make the buns quite some time ego but finally last week I got some times for baking. I followed couple of recipes for the same from Internet, I gave it a try and result was pretty good. I started my bread making journey last year through making a Pizza crust. I got some ideas  at that time for bread making from Devalina di. When you will bake a bread, there are some steps.  First, proof the yeast which is very important, second, make the dough, third, rest the dough for rising and last one is give a shape and bake it and voila! 

Recipe of Stuffed Buns  : Serves - 12

Ingredients:

For Stuffing / Filling

Chicken - 1 and 1/2 cup, boiled and shredded ( breast or thigh part )  or you can use any leftover cooked chicken or you can use minced turkey or chicken
Any vegetable or potato - 1/2 cup cooked
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger- 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder or Black pepper powder - as per taste
Salt -
Oil - 2 tablespoons 

For Buns

Active Dry yeast - 1-2 tbsp
Warm water - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste -
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Bread Flour - 2 + 1/4 cups
Egg - 1 beaten
Egg White - of 1 egg for egg wash
White Sesame seeds - 2-3 tbsp

Method :

1. Make the filling : In a big pan add 2-3 tbsp oil, heat it up. Once oil is ready, add the chopped onion, saute it till the color changes to light brown.
Add ginger and garlic paste, stir it until the raw smell goes off, add the coriander powder, and red chili powder or black pepper powder.
Keep stirring, till oil separates out. Add the shredded chicken and 1/2 cup boiled potato or  vegetable, mix it well and add salt. Give some stirs until everything is well cooked. Turn off the gas, filling / stuffing is ready, set it aside.

2. Proof the yeast : Add the yeast to the warm water (115 F or about 45 C, use a food thermometer, but if you don't have one just feel it, quite warm to touch, more than body heat, that is 98- 99 F) in a deep mug and stir well. Cover and keep it aside, do not shake or stir the yeast for at least 5-7 minutes. It will become very foamy and double in size. If you don't use a deep mug- it will rise and fall over the side! Some recipes ask you to do this step in a large bowl but I find that does not work well, because the water does not maintain the warm temperature and cools off too quickly in a large bowl, not letting the yeast proof properly.

3. Boil the milk in deep-bottomed pan and let it cool till it is warm on touch, add sugar, oil and salt into it . Mix well with a wooden spoon, till the sugar melts. Add flour 1/2 - 1 cup and mix it well to a smooth paste.

4. Add the beaten egg, yeast - water mixture, and the remaining flour, mix them nicely until it makes a soft and smooth dough.

5. Knead it well with your palm for 8 to 10 minutes, and let it rest for 1-1/2 to 2 hrs in a warm place till it doubles in volume.

6. Once the dough rises up in double, punch down it lightly and divide it  into equal sized 12 portions.

7. First Make the each portion into a round ball , then flatten each ball and fill with 1 tbsp of chicken-mushroom filling. Re-shape it again into a smooth ball. Repeat the process for the remaining portion.

8. Let it rest again for about 10 to 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C or approximately 400 degrees F.

9. Take a big, flat baking sheet, line with a parchment paper and put the buns on it. Brush the tops of the Bun with egg-wash ( egg white beaten with 2 tbsp of water) and sprinkle the white sesame seeds on the top and Bake it for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top gets a nice golden brown in color. 

10. Once it is done, take them out of the oven and give them a brush of butter, it will give a glossy look, and buttery smell. Stuffed Bun is ready, serve hot.

Note :  When you will let the dough rest to double in volume, You could turn your oven on at a low setting, and turn it off, the warmth in the oven may be enough to allow the dough to rise. Sometimes what I do, keep it in my car which is parked on the Sun. Make sure the temperature is nearly 90 to 100 degrees F, this would be a great help of rising the dough.