Acorn-like buns

Let’s give the floor to Elia:"These buns were supposed to have an apple-like shape and the apple filling! Rather, I planned to bake them with apples! But when I took them out of the molds, I realized that the buns looked more like acorns. They turned out very pretty and delicious, yum!

I baked them in 14 hemispheres silicone molds. Read the recipe, and please your loved ones with these beautiful delicious buns."

Let’s start cooking!

For the dough:

• 300 ml milk whey | 10.10 fl oz
• 1 egg + 1 egg white | 1.00 item + 1.00 item
• 80 g sugar | 2.80 oz
• 4 g salt | 0.15 oz
• 60 g soft butter | 2.10 oz
• 7 g yeast | 0.25 oz
• 600-650 g premium wheat flour | 22.95 oz
• 20 g neutral vegetable oil | 0.70 oz
• 1 egg yolk (for greasing) | 1.00 item
• 1 tsp water (for greasing) | 1.00 tsp

For the filling #1:

• 600 g peeled apples | 21.15 oz
• 30 g butter | 1.05 oz
• 50-70 g honey or sugar (adjust the sweetness to taste) | 2.45 oz
• 15-25 g corn starch | 0.90 oz

For the filling #2:

• 14 small apples (40-50 g | 1.75 oz each) | 14.00 items
• brown sugar | 0.00 to taste
• cinnamon | 0.00 to taste
• 1 egg yolk (for greasing) | 1.00 item
• 1 spoon water (for greasing) | 1.00 item
• several cinnamon sticks and pumpkin seeds for decoration

Sift 550-600 g (21.15 oz) of flour, and mix it with the yeast.

Combine the egg with the egg white, sugar, salt and milk whey; mix everything well, and add it to the flour. Start kneading the dough, and knead it for 7 to 10 minutes, adding the remaining flour little by little (it may take a little less). Then add the butter, and knead the dough for 5 more minutes.

You should get a very tender and slightly sticky dough. Form a dough ball, and grease it with vegetable oil (the bowl should also be greased). Cover the dough with a towel, and let it proof.

After 50 to 60 minutes, knead the dough, and leave it for another 40 to 50 minutes until it increases 2.5-3 times.

Cut the apples into small pieces.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, and add the apple; simmer until soft (it will take from 7 to 10 minutes). Then add the honey (sugar), and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes; add the starch at the end, and mix quickly until combining.

Cool the filling.

Remove the core from the apples. You should get the whole apples with through holes.

Divide the dough into 14 parts, and roll each part into a ball; leave it under the foil for 10 minutes.

Roll each ball into a circle with a diameter of 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 inch).

Put 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle, and spread it a little.

Place an apple in the middle, and pour a pinch of cinnamon into the hole; fill to the top with the brown sugar.

Connect the edges of the dough circle; seal the dough well, and form a ball. Place the ball into the mold.

Cover the buns, and leave them for 25 to 30 minutes for proofing. Then, brush them with yolk and water. Chop the cinnamon sticks into pieces, and stick the pieces into the top of each bun; stick a pumpkin seed next to the cinnamon piece.

Bake the buns in the oven, preheated to 180C (356F), using the top-bottom mode. If you use silicone molds, then you should bake the buns for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the buns and your oven). As the buns get brown, cover them with the baking paper, and turn off the top heating; bake for another 10 to 12 minutes with the bottom heat. Don’t pull the finished buns out of the molds immediately; the dough is very tender, so wait for 10 to 15 minutes before putting the buns on a wooden board covered with parchment. Cool the buns.

Bon Appetit!