Sweet Steamed Buns from Whole Spelt Flour

Ever since I discovered the steamer, I haven't stopped steaming.

I steam vegetables, tofu cubes, and now I've started steaming buns.

Listen, I'm telling you, this is a serious game-changer.

The steam cooks the dough without causing it to harden like baking or frying does.

The resulting bun is incredibly soft, airy, and delicious.

I don't usually like using that cliché phrase many bloggers love, but for this recipe, it's absolutely necessary:

Soft as a cloud. For real.

Now imagine this: pillow-soft buns with a delicate filling of sweet, melted white chocolate, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.

And so we don't completely die of guilt, these buns are made from whole spelt flour. And yes, you'll be surprised—they still manage to stay light and fluffy.

Health and indulgence all in one. (Just like me.)

A bit about sweet steamed buns

I prepared these buns with whole spelt flour. Original and traditional recipes use only white flour or a combination of white rice flour. If you want to use only white flour, reduce the amount of yeast to one tablespoon.

The fat component required for the recipe is coconut oil in a creamy/paste texture. You can replace it with the same amount of margarine (but why would you?)

I used brown sugar; you can substitute it with any other sugar you like. Do not replace it with silan (date syrup) or maple syrup due to the liquid content.

I used an excellent white chocolate I found at the supermarket, which is made from cocoa butter and rice milk. You can fill the buns with any filling you like, such as dark chocolate, halva, or raspberries. A tip from me: use a small amount of filling and seal the dough well when rolling the buns.

If you don't want to steam the buns, they will also turn out perfect baked in the oven — 10-12 minutes of baking will be more than enough.

By the way, steamers can be easily found in Asian grocery stores and are very affordable.

Nutritional values for the steamed buns:

One steamed bun filled with one cube of white chocolate weighing 40g contains:

• 160 kcal
• 4g protein
• 28g carbohydrates
• 2g fat

Want another steamed bun recipe? Maybe cocoa buns?

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Steamed Buns

Prep time 10 minutes

Cook time 20 minutes

Servings 15 buns

Ingredients

• Steamer
• 2.5 cups whole spelt flour 380g
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water 250 ml
• 3 tbsp fresh yeast or 3/4 yeast block
• 3 tbsp coconut oil 30g
• 15 cubes white chocolate 63g
• Little powdered sugar for decoration

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, pour the water, yeast, and one tablespoon of sugar. Stir and set aside for about 10 minutes until foam forms.

2. In a mixer bowl, add one cup of flour, the sugar, the oil, and the yeast mixture. Mix for about one minute.

3. Add another cup of flour and continue kneading for another minute.

4. Add the remaining flour and knead for about 2 minutes until a uniform dough forms.

5. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour until the dough puffs up slightly (due to the low liquid content, it won't double in volume).

6. On a work surface, divide into 15 balls and flatten each ball with your hands.

7. In the center of each flattened ball, place a cube of white chocolate (or two, I'm not responsible for the calories).

8. Fold the dough over the chocolate and roll with your hands into a ball.

9. Let rise a second time for about 15 minutes.

10. Place parchment paper in the center of the steamer so the dough doesn't stick and steam for 15-20 minutes.

11. Dust with powdered sugar and devour while hot.

Recipe Video