Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tomato Cheese Flower Buns

After I made the whole wheat flower buns, I thought that it might be nice to make a bright-colored version, and I knew that tomato powder would do the trick.

I used the same snipping technique as with the flower buns, but the results were a little more subtle. Delicate, even.

Of course, you don't have to make these decorative with all the snipping. The color makes them interesting as-is. No one expects buns to be bright orange.

You can find tomato powder and cheese powder from online spice companies if you can't find it locally.

Tomato Cheese Flower Buns

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
11 1/4 ounces bread flour
1 tablespoon tomato powder
1 tablespoon cheddar cheese powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Egg wash: I egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Sesame seeds

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine bread, tomato powder, cheddar cheese powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.

Put the 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a zip-top plastic bag. Transfer the dough to the plastic bag and make sure the dough is coated on all sides with the oil. Remove most of the air from the bag, and seal. Place it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, remove the bag from the refrigerator, open it to expel the gas, and massage the dough inside the bag briefly. Leave the dough at room temperature for 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Massage the dough briefly in the bag again. Flour your work surface very lightly and turn the dough out. Knead the dough until it feels smooth and elastic – just a minute or so.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and space them evenly on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

When the dough has doubled, use a sharp knife or small sharp pair of scissors to cut a circle in the center of each bun, about 1/4-inch deep and 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. This will form the center of the flower. Then, using the small scissors, snip around the center to create rows of petals. It’s fine to make them all a little different from each other, with larger or smaller centers, or different snipping patterns to make the petals.

Brush the egg wash on just the center of the flower, and sprinkle sesame seeds onto the egg wash. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until nicely browned. Cool on a rack.

Note: The buns will deflate a bit as you snip, but they will re-inflate as they bake.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
Yum

2 comments:

Jen said...

They look so pretty.

Too bad they are gonna get nom'd

vanillasugarblog said...

fabulous! must find some tomato powder!

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