“Enjoy food plain and fresh”
This is something my dad taught me. In his twenties, Papa Leung quit his job and went to backpack around the world with the money he earned. On his travels, he has visited countries such as Egypt, Nepal, Greece, and Japan. The stories of his adventures always interest me, even if I’ve heard them several times before. About how he almost made it to the base camp of Mount Everest, the granny that monitored both the men’s and women’s public showers in Japan, the rickety bus that drove days through the desert to get to the boarder of Pakistan, the scary situation he witnessed at Tiananmen Square in 1989, the motor bike ride he took around Santorini, and of course all the food he encountered along the way. The best milk pudding from Egypt and the plain yogurt in Greece, all simple foods done right. I’ve always wondered how he could just eat plain toast for breakfast: “Doesn’t it taste bland?” Papa Leung just tells me that by eating food in its original form, you are able to savour the true taste because anything that is fresh tastes delicious.
Even though everyone says I look ‘identical’ to my mom, I think I resemble my dad a bit more. Including his adventurism, open mindedness, and appreciation for real food. We are both blessed to have Mama Leung cook from scratch for us. She has her own cooking adventures while we are all away at school or work, so when we arrive home we’ll find a special dinner waiting for us.
Mama Leung had this bread-making phase about a decade ago when she got a bread machine. The moment a loaf emerged from the machine, I would beg my mom to slice off the top dome for me to snack on. Warm, fluffy, white sandwich bread. She regularly used it to make bread for our sandwich lunches. I think my family holds the record for most sandwiches eaten per capita. My brother, dad, and myself were packed a sandwich for lunch five days a week. I started making my own lunches but to this day, the other two still live off of sandwiches.
On special occasions, we would get to have homemade cinnamon buns, all in their sticky gooey glory. Mama Leung would let me do the job of smearing butter all over the dough and liberally sprinkling brown sugar and cinnamon all over. There was also one night where my mom made a dozen whole wheat dinner rolls, and once the came out of the oven I ate half the batch. No exaggeration here, I really love warm fluffy bread.
On a recent trip to my favourite local bakery, Chew and I shared an assortment of goodies: one of their famous scones, Chew’s beloved fudgy brownie, a savoury muffin, and a savoury roll. As we arrived shortly after they opened their doors for the day, many items were just making its way from the kitchen to the display counter. The savoury roll was still warm, the cheese still melty. It was honestly one of the best buns I have ever had, so of course I had to recreate it.
After a successful batch of Ube Buckwheat Rolls, I’ve kinda been on a yeast bread kick. There something satisfying about properly activated yeast, punching down a risen down, and taking a bite out of freshly baked bread. Albeit, with all the rising and waiting, making yeast bread is certainly time consuming. But it’s the holidays and everyone deserves a treat.
With all the caramelized onion, pesto, sundried tomato, and heaps of shredded cheese, these buns do not fall short in the flavour category. In fact they’re bursting from the seams in flavour. While I adore sweets, sugar comas are still attainable, which is when you’ll likely find me scouring for something salty to nosh on. Having a handy treat like these buns satisfy that craving for something savoury.
Whether it’s for breakfast, brunch, snack, or dinner, a dozen of freshly baked Cheesy Caramelized Onion Buns are sure to be greatly appreciated. These gluten-reduced buns are portable and would make an easy lunch or a great holiday gift. Enjoy reheated in the oven for about 5 minutes so the cheese is stringy again and the buns are warm and fluffy!
Hmmm… How many times have I said “warm and fluffy” in this post?
- FILLINGS
- ½ tsp coconut oil
- 2 medium sweet onions, finely sliced
- ¼ cup jarred sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp pesto
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- DOUGH
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 ¼ tsp traditional yeast (1 8g package)
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- EGG WASH
- 1 egg + 1 tbsp almond milk
- Garlic powder, freshly cracked black paper, grated parmesan cheese
- Heat ½ tsp coconut oil in a skillet. Once hot, add sliced onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow to cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally. Onions should be brown and very soft.
- To make the dough, warm almond milk and honey in microwave for about 1 minute, or until warm to the touch but not scalding. Stir in the yeast and allow it to bloom for 10 minutes. Activated yeast should be foamy.
- Mix oat flour, 1¼ cup all purpose flour, and salt briefly in stand mixer to roughly combine.
- Pour the melted coconut oil and activated yeast into the bowl of the standing mixer containing the dry ingredients.
- Mix on low speed until a thick and sticky dough forms. Increase to medium speed and knead the dough with the dough hook attachment for 5 to 7 minutes or until a soft dough forms and begins to gather around the hook. Add up to ½ cup more of all purpose flour after 2 minutes if dough still looks too wet. Finished dough will partially wrap around the hook and still be sticky. Avoid over-kneading for soft and fluffy bread.
- Oil a large mixing bowl and transfer the dough into the oiled bowl. Turn the dough a few times to coat the surface of the dough with oil. This will prevent it from sticking as it rises. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in a warm place and draft-free place (such as a microwave that isn't turned on) to allow dough to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350⁰F.
- Once dough has expanded to twice its initial size, punch the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll into a ½ inch thick rectangle
- and spread generously with pesto. Scatter sundried tomatoes evenly over pesto. Then, top with caramelized onions and shredded cheese.
- Starting from the shorter edge, roll tightly into a jelly roll. Slice into 1½” thick rounds using a bread knife or dental floss and arrange on a lined cookie sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the dough rise again in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes.*
- Whisk together the egg and almond milk for the egg wash. Brush the tops and sides of each roll with egg wash and sprinkle with garlic powder, black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350⁰F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying!
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