Custard Buns #BreadBakers

 

This month the Bread Bakers are trying out stuffed buns.  I have made a few filled buns in the past but this month, custard buns immediately came to mind.  They are typically either steamed or baked, and the steamed ones tend to have the custard filling while the baked ones tend toward a large swathe of whipped cream filling after halving the bun.  I decided to use a method from when I made custard mochi and freeze dollops of custard, wrap the dough around them, and then bake them.

Could you fill these buns after baking?  Totally.  They are soft and fluffy and would probably fill as easily as a doughnut.  You could choose your favorite creamy custard filling that way, and to be honest, I might have cooked my custard about 10 seconds too long.  This custard is also different than a starch based custard and tends to be more fluffy than creamy.  But it's still delicious!  (Hubby loves jelly doughnuts and would love these with a jelly filling.)  You could also bake the buns plain and fold the custard into whipped cream and then fill the split buns with that creme diplomat mixture, which would also be delicious.  Totally baker's preference.

These are simple, comforting buns, not cloyingly sweet, just a nice treat.  They froze and reheated nicely as well.  I will admit that I nuked one for 30 seconds straight out of the freezer and it was just about perfect.  One little cold spot left.  But you never want to go very long in the microwave for bread anyway, it will ruin it.  You could also run these under water for 5 seconds and then wrap in foil and reheat in the oven for 10 minutes at 350º or the air fryer at (I would guess) 275-300º for 10-12 minutes.  (That's from frozen.)

Thanks to Magical Ingredients for hosting this month! 

Custard Buns
makes 8 generously sized filled buns

Custard:
227g (1 cup) milk
16.5g (2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
4 egg yolks
37.5g (3 tbsp) sugar
1.4g (¼ tsp) sea salt
2.5ml (½ tsp) vanilla extract

Buns:
300g bread flour
50g sugar
5g sea salt
zest of one orange
5g dry yeast
170g milk, warmed to 110ºF
1 egg (50g)
25g butter, softened

1 beaten egg for egg wash

Make the custard:

(Can be made ahead and prepared up to the frozen stage before making the dough.)

Whisk together the milk and yolks in a small saucepan until well combined.  Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a small dish, then whisk into the milk mixture until there are no lumps.  

Heat on low heat until just starting to bubbling and thick, about 5-10 minutes.  (Once it starts to thicken, it will get really thick, really fast - go low and slow.)  Remove from heat quickly. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pass the custard through a mesh sieve to remove any clumps, if desired.  Cover with a piece of plastic pressed against the surface and let the custard chill in the refrigerator.

Scoop the cooled custard into a frosting or ziptop bag and pipe onto a cookie sheet into 8 dollops, or scoop out with a #40 (1½ tbsp) cookie scoop.  Freeze for one hour.

For the dough:

In a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, zest and yeast and lightly mix together.  Add the milk and eggs and knead on low speed until the dough comes together, then on medium speed until the dough has smoothed out a bit and is a cohesive mixture.  Add the softened butter and knead until the gluten is strong and has reached windowpane stage, which may take up to 10 minutes.  Scrape down the edges a few times during kneading.  (The dough will mostly clean the sides of the bowl, it will be bouncy and tacky, but not sticky, and it will feel strong when pulling to stretch the windowpane.)

Form the dough into a ball and return to the bowl.  Cover and leave to rise until it has increased in volume 2½-3 times, 60-90 minutes. 

Gently knock down the dough and transfer to a work surface.  Divide the dough into 8 pieces (somewhere around 72g each).  

Flatten each piece and form into a ball.  Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes.  Flatten each piece of dough and place a frozen ball of custard in the center (flat side up).  Draw up the edges around the custard and seal together very well.  Place each ball, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Cover the shaped buns with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size.  This will take longer than plain buns due to the frozen custard cooling the dough.  (Mine took about 2¾ hours with the final hour in the proof setting of the oven to give it some help.)  The dough should be fully doubled and jiggly, and the custard will have come to room temperature by then.

Toward the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 365ºF.  Gently brush the tops and sides of the buns with the beaten egg, thinned with a little water if desired.  Bake for 5 minutes and then turn down the oven to 350ºF and bake for another 10-13 minutes until evenly golden brown.  Rotate the pan for even browning if necessary halfway through baking.  

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Really.  Cook it on LOW.  Patience.
(Still yummy.)

 

Tacky, not sticky! 

Smells amazing from the orange zest.

Lovely to handle after rising.  No flour needed.

 

I divided by weight, 75g each for me.

 

Put the frozen custard in flat side up so
the buns will sit flat with the seam down.

Squidge the edges up and around just to
seal, and pinch very well to seal firmly.

 

Make to sure give enough time to fully double
for beautifully soft and fluffy finished buns!

Soft and delicate straight out of the oven, let them
set for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.

 Be sure to check out the rest of our filled buns and bread: 

• Custard Buns from A Messy Kitchen
• Ham and Cheese Stuffed Buns from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hot Dog Flower Buns from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Nebraska Runzas from Food Lust People Love
• Salted Caramel Apple Wreath from Magical Ingredients
• Small Batch Nebraska Runzas from Sneha’s Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.