Apple & Cherry Buns

I found the recipe for Apple Buns here and decided to give them a try. I decided to make both apple buns and try cherry buns so I made a double batch of dough.

Ingredients (for a double batch)
Dough
2 c milk, scalded
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp yeast
6 c flour

Fillings
#1.  2 - 3 apples peeled and diced
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 c brown sugar
cinnamon

#2.  for cherry filling I used the above with 1-2 cups pitted frozen cherries instead of apples
cornstarch for thickening

#3.  I had extra dough so mixed up some spiced apricot jam, chopped nuts and chopped raisins.  I did not cook this filling but used it as is.

Scald milk and then mix with sugar, oil and salt.  Cool until lukewarm and then add yeast.  Let sit 10 to 15 minutes until it becomes frothy.  Mix in flour and knead for 10 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl to rest and rise until double in size.

I made the dough first and while it was rising, I made the fillings.

Melt butter in pan and add brown sugar.  Stir to combine, then let caramelize at medium high heat.  Stir only enough to keep from burning. 

 

Add apples and cinnamon and cook until apples are soft and mixture has thickened.  Let cool before using.

 

For the cherry filling, I added some cornstarch as it was cooking because they are much juicier than the apples.  I just sprinkled on a bit at a time and let it cook until thick.  Cool before using.

 

The original recipe was for 16 buns but with it doubled, I only got 24.  Roll the dough into a circle and the fun begins.

 

I used this video as guide for shaping the buns.  I watched it numerous times as my fingers kept forgetting what I wanted them to do.  Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the dough.

 

Pleat the dough following the video making sure the filling is all inside.

 

Continue pleating until entire edge is done.  Once my fingers got the feel of the action, it was fairly easy, but I had to stop and rewatch the video because they would sometimes fumble and forget.

 

 

Once the dough is in a nice bunch, twist the dough as they do in the video to close and seal the bun.

 

Voila!  I was impressed with myself!  The buns actually looked nice.

 

Place buns twisted side down on a baking sheet.  You can brush top of bun with egg wash if you wish.  (I didn't)

 

Bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes.

 

Cool on rack.  I found that a few of the jam and cherry buns leaked a bit and the filling burnt to the pan.  I think they were not sealed as good as the others but also those fillings were juicier than the apple filling.

 

All three fillings were tasty.  Enjoy!  ;)