Toronto Blueberry Buns

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits. I love their flavor, I love their color. In fact, look at the beautiful color of the filling for these buns…

The filling was so pretty and so tasty, that my husband and I devoured all the extra filling immediately. He spread it on rice cakes, I ate it with almond butter. What a treat!

I messed up when cutting the dough, I misread the recipe and cut the dough too small and didn’t realize it until I had put the filling on. So it was pretty much a mess. But I pulled it all together and ended up with delicious (if not beautiful) buns.

A perfect summer breakfast treat.

Toronto Blueberry Buns aka Shtritzlach

from Jewish Food: The World at Table by Matthew Goodman

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries (from Fifer Orchards)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt

For the dough:
1 package (~ 2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. vegetable shortening or butter
2 eggs (from Farmer Kim)

1 beaten egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water for egg wash
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions

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

Make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with 1/2 tsp sugar. Let stand until mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

Combine the flour, the rest of the sugar, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix briefly to combine. Add shortening, yeast mixture and the eggs and beat to form a stiff dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Use the dough hook to knead for about 2 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 balls. Cover abd let rest at room temperature for about 45 minutes.

Make the blueberry buns: Set out a bowl of cold water. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough ball into a 12″ by 10″ rectangle. Cut the rectangle into quarters (one cut crosswise and one lengthwise), creating 4 pieces, each 6″ x 5″. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center of each piece.

Moisten the edges of the dough with the water, fold the short end over (creating a 3″ x5″ bun), and pinch the edges tightly closed.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the buns on the baking sheets and cover with a towel and let stand 30 minutes. Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle tops with sugar.