Tuna Mayo Buns

You know how when you are midway baking something and you have this wild idea that involves changing the form and design of the baked product and you imagine that your interpretation will come out so successful, that it will shoot your blog to stardom ? Well, that happens quite often to me. The wild idea bit, I mean.  The thing that was to shoot me to stardom ? Well, it sure didn’t happen here.

I had originally intended to make a simple round bun for Little Missy’s weekday breakfast.  Somehow, when the dough was proofing, wild ideas emerged, and I decided to add some fun into her lunchbox.  I knew exactly how I wanted the bun to look like, but sadly (as always), it fell short.  The resulting bun turned out looking like a cross between a hedgehog and some pre-historic creature which has yet to find its modern form.  By the way, it was supposed to come out looking like a fish.

Taste-wise, this is merely a simple sweet bun with tuna mayo filling.  It was the shape of the bun that I had wanted to glorified, which unfortunately ended up looking horrified.

Nevertheless, Little Missy was happy to see and eat this.  Experimental baking is great when your key audience is only two years old, and you can basically cheat your way out :P.

You will need:

Dough

200 g bread flour
140 ml whole milk
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
30 g butter

Filling

Adequate tuna in brine, drained

Adequate mayonnaise

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Put all the ingredients (except for the butter) in the pan of the bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Select the dough function.  Add the butter after about 5 minutes. 

If you do not have a bread machine, do not despair, you can also knead the dough by hand.  To do so, simply put the flour and yeast in a bowl. Stir to combine.  Add the sugar and salt, and stir again.  Make a well in the centre of the flour. Pour milk into the well, and mix to make a soft, moist dough.

Place the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface and, with lightly floured hands, knead for 5 - 10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.  Add the butter into the dough, and continue to knead for another 10 - 15 minutes until the dough is no longer sticking to the surface and your hands.

Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

When the dough program has finished (if using machine) or the dough has risen, take the dough out of the machine / bowl.  Place it onto a clean floured surface and punch down.  Shape into balls, and let rest for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 7 equal portions, about 55 to 60 g each.  Round up dough and rest for 10 - 15 minutes.  Roll out dough, and put tuna filling in the centre.  Wrap over the filling and fold in the edges.  Seal and shape into an oblong and shape into fish shape as pictured below (I used scissors to snip the buns to form the fins and applied black icing gel for the eyes).  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving adequate space between the buns to allow for the second rising.

Cover and leave aside to proof for another 30 - 45 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180 deg Celsius about 15 minutes prior to baking.  Glaze buns with egg wash if you wish.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the buns are golden brown.