Blueberry Buns

It's Two for Tuesdays day. It's a fun day for me because my participation in this event is usually a "challenge myself to do something different day". Check out T4T here where you'll find the other hostess addresses as well as the weekly display of fabulous "REAL FOOD" dishes.





Coming from European parents, my memories of dishes from Poland are very vivid in my mind. Each summer when the blueberries were in season, my mother would make sure there were wild blueberries in the house to make what she used to call "Yagde Kichalach" which literally translated is Blueberry Buns.

Toronto has a bakery called Open Window Bakery that makes these wonderful buns and they call them Shritzlach. This is an adaptation of the recipe that I was lucky enough to find at The Splendid Table .

My first attempt at making these buns were kind of hit and miss. I'm sure there's a trick to keeping the buns from opening in the oven and having some (and sometimes all) of the filling ooze out. The second attempt is much better and although I don't mind some ooze, I don't feel like losing all the filling.


Dough

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling

2 cups (1 pint) fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup and it was fine)
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash
sugar for sprinkling

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Let stand until mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Place in the bowl of an electric mixer/stand mixer. Add shortening, yeast and water, eggs and vanilla and beat until dough is smooth. Let stand while preparing filling.

Mix filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool.



On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Add flour whenever the dough threatens to stick. Cut dough into pices 5 inches square. Place 1 Tbsp filling in center of square, then fold dough over on top and pinch to close. Pinch ends closed. Cover buns with a towel and let stand for 30 minutes.





Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake until browned - about 16 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

The outcome took me back to my childhood so quickly that I'm bound and determined to make sure I perfect this recipe. I'm certainly not an expert so if anyone has some good pinching techniques I'm all ears :)