This warming treat takes inspiration from African cuisine, the dough mimicking that of bofrot (Ghana)/puff puff (Nigeria)/Mikate (Congo), all variations of a lightly spiced breakfast donut. The silky custard is infused with a strong dose of loose leaf rooibos tea and some is stirred into the crisp buttery topping. Rooibos, indigenous to South Africa, has been used for traditional medicinal purposes, specifically by the Khoi descended people of the Cape. In celebration of Black History Month and this year's theme of Black Health and Wellness, I wanted to explore the health-oriented angle of the distinctive cuisine. During pregnancy Khoi women would drink rooibos, because of its iron content and ability to soothe heartburn and nausea. Babies were given the herb to provide colic relief.
Nowadays rooibos's capability to alleviate digestive issues and prevent muscle spasms (especially in the bowls) have been recognized and profited from. I hope these buns celebrate and honor the beauty of this culture. So, here is my interpretation and fusion of rooibos and a sweetbread from my own heritage.
The style of the bun resembles that of melon pan, a Japanese sweetbread covered in a thin cookie crust. I developed this recipe using sourdough as the leavening agent (because this week we are staying in a cabin in Lapland and I forgot the yeast), but it could definitely be modified to use yeast. The dough is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon: just like the African donuts. The filling is a basic vegan custard but the milk is steeped with a generous amount of rooibos. My taste testers said the delicate tea flavor came through; we found it to be reminiscent of honey, while also a bit floral, fruity and woody.
Ingredients (for 9 buns)
for the levain
40g sourdough starter
20g sugar
30g water
40g flour
the rest of the dough
160g aquafaba
60g vegan yogurt
40g sugar
4g salt
330g flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg *optional
1 tsp cinnamon *optional
70g vegan butter, softened
for the custard
275g oat milk
1 Tbs loose leaf rooibos
75g vegan yogurt
75g sugar
30g flour
for the topping
60g melted vegan butter
100g sugar
20g vegan yogurt
125g flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp loose leaf rooibos *optional
Instructions
1. Mix the levain ingredients together and allow it to triple in size (for mine, it took overnight in a warm place).
2. Mix the aquafaba and yogurt and heat up to be lukewarm, add it to the remaining dough ingredients (except for the butter!) with the levain to make a shaggy dough. Dump it onto a clean surface and knead until it comes together and is smooth (the dough will be very sticky and wet but don't add more flour), gradually add a pinch (about 1 Tbs) of butter at a time and knead it in. The dough should become elastic and pull away from the counter easily (it should pass the windowpane test). Set the dough in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size (2-4hr), then place it in the fridge to ferment for 6-12hr.
3. Make the custard by bringing the oat milk to a simmer over medium heat with the rooibos. Once it is bubbling set the milk aside to steep for 30 minutes. In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, sugar and flour, remove the tea leaves and add it to the steeped milk. Put the mixture back onto the heat and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens ( 5-10 minutes). Cover the custard and set aside to cool.
4. Assemble the buns by dividing the chilled dough into 9 portions (about 80g each), flatten into disks with the center being thicker then the edges. Place a dollop of cooled custard in the middle, fold together the edges and pinch together. Place the ball seem side down onto a parchment lined tray. Repeat with all the dough, cover the tray with a tea towl and allow the buns to rise until doubled in size (2-3hr).
5. Make the topping by whisking together the butter and sugar until it lightens in color, whisk in the yogurt until combined. Fold in the flour, baking soda, salt and rooibos until a uniform dough comes together. Roll the dough out between a piece of folded parchment. Chill the dough until ready to use.
6. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Cut out 9 circles of the topping and place a disc on top of each bun. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top and bottom of the bun is full browned.
to read more about rooibos (and other medicinal plants) check out this article
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