Toronto Blueberry Buns

OK, I admit. They had me at hello. Toronto is a city dear to my heart and I would make almost anything with it in the title. These are apparently modeled after a blueberry bun at the Open Window Bakery.However, with this post I am actually breaking VGP Cardinal Rule #1: Only post recipes I actually recommend making.

I mean, the buns are OK. I'd even call them good. But the effort-to-result ratio (E:R) is ridiculously high and they're just not worth it.

But since I put so much time into them, and in fact tried to make them twice (the first time I broke VGP Cardinal Rule #7: Read the entire recipe before embarking, and #9: Don't be an idiot and start a 4-hour baking project at 9pm), I am just posting this to get credit for all my work.

Toronto Blueberry Buns
Dough:
1 cup warm water
1 T rapid-rise yeast
5 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blueberry Filling:
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 T water

Finishing:
1 large egg
Pinch sugar
Regular or coarse sugar for dusting

1. In a mixer bowl, whisk warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 cup flour to mixture and then add sugar, eggs, butter, salt, vanilla, and most of remaining flour. Knead with dough hook on lowest speed, 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft dough.

2. Remove dough hook and place dough in greased bowl. Spray with cooking spray. Cover and allow to rise in warm place (I put it on my back porch in the summer) for 70 to 90 minutes or until almost doubled.

3. Meanwhile, for blueberry filling, place blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and heat gently. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring berries and letting them just burst open, until mixture becomes like pie filling, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove filling from heat, turn out into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed.

4. Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide in half and roll out to 1/2-inch thickness, allowing dough to rest a few minutes afterwards so it does not retract too much. Cut dough into 5-inch circles.
5. Whisk egg and pinch of sugar in small bowl. Place dough cutouts on baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment. Brush edges of dough circles with egg wash; deposit blueberry filling in middle of each.
6. Seal; press edges with a fork. Brush again with egg wash and dust with regular or coarse sugar. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 to 60 minutes until almost doubled.

7. Preheat oven to 350. Bake buns until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 12 to 16 buns.
There. I did it.

Recipe from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman