Whole Wheat Spinach Burger Buns

I am on a mission. Mission to hide greens in my toddler’s food AND make her appreciate it. I mostly fall flat on my face. Success is rare but when its there, it is the sweetest thing on the planet!

I have confessed earlier that bread baking remains my first love. And I can’t deny that I love working with plain flour(maida) specially for breads. However, considering my mission, incorporating flour seemed ironic with the ‘greens’, especially when the greens were homegrown. Hence, I went the whole wheat way. Results were more than satisfying as my target gobbled on the buns right out of the oven.

I arrived at this recipe after a bunch of trials but completely worth the effort.

Serves – 8 medium sized buns. Preparation – 40 minutes. Proofing – 2-3 hrs. Baking – 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat flour – 2 cups
2. Spinach blanched & pureed – 1 cup
3. Yeast – 2 tsp
4. Gluten(optional) – 2 tsp
5. Salt – 1 tsp
6. Jaggery powder – 1 tblspn
7. Flax seeds – 1 tblspn
8. White sesame seeds – 1/2 tblspn
9. Oil – 2 tblspn
10. Blanched Spinach Water – 150 ml or as required
11. Milk – 2 tblspn

Method

1. Activate yeast by adding it to lukewarm milk & sugar. Set aside
2. Blanch spinach(refer notes) and puree it
3. Mix flour, salt, gluten & flaxseeds
4. Add activated yeast & spinach to above and mix well
5. Add water as required to make a soft dough
6. Proof it by keeping it covered with a wet cloth for 2 hrs or until double in size
7. Lightly punch the dough to take out the air from the proofed dough
8. Shape the buns on the baking tray(lined with baking paper) and keep for second proofing for 30 minutes
9. Sprinkle sesame seeds on buns & give them a milk bath
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 30 minutes

Notes

1. I follow a particular order of steps to ensure the color remains the rich green of spinach. Boil 1.5 cups of water. When the water is rolling, add the spinach. Take it out in 2 minutes and dip it in ice cold water for another 2 minutes. Save the boiled water to knead the dough
2. Doubling of the dough depends on temperature. In hot weather it takes less time
3. I add garlic powder, onion powder, fresh garlic for flavor. Completely optional & experimental
4. Keep a few ice cubes in the bottom shelf while baking the buns