Golden Carrot Buns Food

CARROT STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• For the steamed bun dough: In a small bowl, swirl together the water, yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and let it sit until it becomes foamy on top, about 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt and remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Pour in the yeast mixture and oil and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a work surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• For the filling: While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the carrots in a baking dish and toss with the oil and salt. (I like baking them in a high-sided dish like a casserole, so that I have room to add the other filling ingredients and then there's no need to transfer to a bowl.) Bake until tender, 30 to 35 minutes; let cool for 5 minutes.
• Add the teriyaki sauce, peanuts, rice vinegar, scallions and a drizzle of sriracha to the carrots and stir together. Set aside to continue to cool. It's ok if it's still a little warm when it's time to fill the buns. The filling can be made a day in advance and kept covered in the fridge.
• Once the dough has completed its rising time, turn it out onto a clean work surface and divide it into 16 balls. Keep the dough balls covered when you're not working with them. Working with 1 ball at a time, roll out to a 4 1/2- to 5-inch circle, fill with about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling and pinch the edges shut to seal well. Place on an individual 3-inch square of parchment paper. Space the buns out in a steamer basket 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. (If your steamer doesn't fit all of the buns at once, do in batches.) Cover and let rise 30 more minutes.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat (the water should come up high in the pot so it is close to the steamer). Place the steamer over it and steam the buns until light and fluffy, about 45 minutes.
• To serve, top with another little drizzle of sriracha and some sprinkles of peanuts and scallions. Dip in teriyaki sauce and enjoy!
• Leftovers can be cooled and kept in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for a few months. To reheat, wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave until heated through.

GOLDEN CARROT BUNS

Steps:

• Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with water; cook until tender. Drain and cool slightly. Place in a blender or food processor. Add eggs and 1/2 cup water; puree until smooth. , In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in remaining water. Add carrot mixture. Stir in oil, sugar, molasses, salt and 5 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 48 balls. Place 2-in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. , Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

CARROT ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix flour, water or milk, carrots, salt and yeast thoroughly. First mix yeast with sugar and little of the warm water and wait until it's frothy. Then what I do is put all the flour on the work surface and mix it with other dry incredients - then making a well in the centre of the heap where all the liquid goes.
• Kneading for gluten. By hand, or course - and I find that using a work surface instead of a bowl works better for me. At first it may be difficult to figure out what the dough should feel like, so use your watch - this should take 7 to 8 minutes. At this time it's also important to observe the dough to make sure you're not putting too much (or too little) flour in it - it's quite normal that you need more or less than in the recipe. Dough is good to go when you can spread little out between your hands and it streches to a very thin skin without breaking (also called "window test"). The dough should be a little sticky at all times, as well as smooth and elastic.
• Leave the dough to rise. Put in into an oiled bowl and cover with a cloth - if you put it into a warm place it will rise more quickly, but you can put it into the fridge too (only it will take days then). This can actually be quite useful too - you can put your dough into the fridge, then go out and take it only out when you're ready to bake it. The dough has risen enough when it's doubled in size.
• Knocking the dough out again. This is done so that the bubbles that have formed are broken and can be distributed evenly. At this point you want to shape your dough - loafs or rolls, whatever you want.
• Second rising. Again, leave for about half an hour in a warm place - this is also one of those things you need to practice with. Remember that bread doesn't rise in the oven anymore like cakes that use baking powder - so you need to let them rise enough to get nice and puffy bread.
• Bake in 225 C for 10 - 15 minutes as a guideline but as always nothing beats experience. Generally bread is cooked when you tap the bottom of it with your finger and it sounds hollow - this can be difficult to judge in the beginning though, so use the recipe's guidelines and learn to judge what a good bread sounds like.
• Cooling. Warm bread is delicious, but hot bread is disgusting - it's not set yet properly. So put it on a cooling rack for 10-20 minutes and be patient!

CARROT MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6/fan 180C. Melt the margarine in the microwave.
• Top and tail, then peel and grate the carrots.
• Combine the carrots, sugar and margarine in a bowl.
• Sift in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
• Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then add to the mixture. Also mix in the nuts and sultanas.
• Line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases and divide the mixture equally between them. Bake for 20 minutes.

GOLDEN CARROT BUNS

Steps:

• Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with water; cook until tender. Drain and place in a blender or food processor. Add eggs and 1/2 cup water; puree until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in remaining water. Add carrot mixture. Stir in oil, sugar, molasses, salt and 5 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down.
• Shape into 48 balls. Place 2-in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until browned.

GOLDEN CARROT BUNS

Steps:

• Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with water cook until tender. Drain and place in a blender or food processor. Add eggs and 1/2 cup warm water puree until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in remaining water. Add carrot mixture. Stir in oil, sugar, molasses, salt and 5 cups flour beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into 48 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until browned.© Copyright Reiman Publications, 1993-1997