Carrot bun with apricot

Carrot buns with purple carrots

I found this recipe on carrot buns with apricot in the weekly newsletter issue week 40/2012 from Årstiderne, and with the rain being everywhere, I decided to test these buns making a few adjustments of mine (more yeast, change the ratio between water and fermented milk product in favour of the milk product). A the colourful purple carrots are brining some colour to a grey day full of rain.

As fermented milk product you can use yogurt, buttermilk, fromage frais or A-38, so simply use what ever fermented milk product, which you have in your refrigerator.

I have a mix of carrots in form of white, yellow and purple carrot, which I decided to use instead of the usual orange carrot. After addition of the grated carrot, the dough change colour from the normal flour colour in more reddish colour. And these purple carrots are also providing some very nice colour in the final buns.

If my freezer is over-loaded, I some time keep some part of the bun dough cold in the refrigerator after the first raising for up to 1-2 days, before I raise the bun dough for 60 minutes, before baking the buns. Doing this, you can enjoy freshly bake buns for 3 days in a row.

The apricot is bringing a nice sweetness into the buns as extra taste. However, the taste profile still remains in the savoury direction.

Carrot bun with apricot: - 22 buns

The carrot bun dough

• 250 g carrots - finely grated
• 50 g dried apricot
• 20 g yeast
• 400 g water
• 200 g fermented milk product
• 15 g salt
• 1000 g wheat flour

1. Add boiling water to the dried apricot, let the apricot soak for 5 minutes.
2. Chop the apricot finely.
3. Peel the carrots and grate them finely.
4. Add the flour into a mixing bowl.
5. Mix the yeast into the flour.
6. Add salt, fermented milk product, water, carrot and apricot.
7. Knead the dough together, I usual knead for 10 minutes.
8. After the kneading process, let the dough raise warm for 1½-2 hour.
9. De-gas the dough and weigh the dough into 80 g pieces and form a bun.
10. Place the buns on a piece of baking paper.
11. Let the buns raise for 30-45 minutes
12. Heat the oven to 200'C (conventional oven).
13. Place the buns in the hot oven. Bake the buns for 20 minutes.