Great Meals for a Change

Whole Wheat Buns

Light and fluffy buns made with whole wheat

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp honey (use sugar for vegan option)
• 2 ¼ tsp yeast
• 1 ¼ cups warm water
• 2 tsp organic sunflower or canola oil
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• 1 ½ tsp salt

Instructions:

• In small bowl, dissolve 1 tsp of the honey in ¼ cup warm water. Sprinkle the yeast in and let stand until frothy, about 10 min.
• In a large bowl mix the oil, salt and remaining honey and water.
• Whisk frothy yeast water into the large bowl.
• Stir in all the flour, plus 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
• Lightly flour a surface and knead for approx. 10 min. If the dough is wet and sticky, add a small amount of extra flour (just enough to make the dough smooth and elastic)
• Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with a warm, damp cloth; let the dough rise in warm draft-free place for about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough; place on lightly floured surface
• Roll into a log and divide into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, stretching and pinching dough underneath to smooth tops.
• Place the balls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet.
• Cover with clean tea towel in warm, draft-free place for 5 minutes.
• Flatten and press buns into 4-inch diameter
• Cover and let rise for another 10 minutes
• Optional: brush oil over the top and sprinkle with remaining sunflower seeds
• Place in the middle of the over and bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes until buns are golden brown sound hollow when tapped on the bottom
• Transfer to rack and let cool