Broccoli Cheddar Buns

There are lots of books out there right now about making healthy bread for your family. Our daughter, Rebekah, made some Broccoli and Cheddar Buns out of this book: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients.  Boy were they good! Of course this family loves yeast bread, broccoli and cheese so how could we not like them?

Broccoli and Cheddar Buns

(makes 3 batches of 8 buns)

Ingredients:

15 ounces (about 5 cups) raw broccoli florets

1 1/2 cups water for cooking the broccoli

3 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast or 2 packages

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 tablespoon vital wheat glutin

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water

Neutral flavored oil for greasing muffin tin.

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup per batch of 8 buns)

1. Cooking the broccoli: In a medium-size saucepan, bring water to a boil, add the broccoli, and cook on medium-high heat, with the lid on, for 3 to 4 minutes. It is very important not to overcook the broccoli or it will taste bitter. It should be bright green. Remove from the stove and place the broccoli and the cooking water into a blender to puree. Puree as finely as you can, but don’t expect it to be perfectly smooth. This will yield 3 cups of broccoli puree. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5 quart bowl, or in a lidded (not airtight) food container.

3. Add the 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water and broccoli puree and mix without kneading, using a spoon or a heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle. You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.

4. Cover (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours.

5. The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, although it is easier to handle when it is cold. Refrigerate it in a non-airtight lidded container  and use over the next 7 days.

6. On baking day, grease a muffin pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 1/2 pound (cantaloupe size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a loose ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go.

7. To form the rolls, divide the ball into 8 roughly equal portions (each about the size of a plum). Cut each of the pieces into 4 smaller pieces. Shape each one into a smooth ball. Put the 4 rounds together to form the clover leaf and place in the cup of a muffin pan. Allow to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 40 minutes (20 minutes if you are using unrefrigerated dough).

8. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the over to 450 degrees F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising buns.

9. Just before baking, sprinkle the buns with the cheddar cheese, being careful not to get in on the pan.

10. Slide the muffin tin directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until richly browned and firm. The cheese will be melted and a bit caramelized.

11. Remove the buns from the pan and allow them to cool slightly before serving.

The buns were absolutely delicious and I plan on making them again.  Hope you enjoy them. To see what Rebekah had to say about them, visit her notes about this recipe at Sabbath Supper.