Inspired from eating tons of empanadas in Spain, I decided to make these buns filled with sausage, potatoes, and onions flavored with smoked paprika. (Honestly, it was more driven by my desire to use up the smoked paprika I purchased during our trip to Spain two years ago before they turn to sawdust!)
Originally, I wasn't going to put this on the blog, since it's my first time making these sausage buns. So please forgive the lack of "step-by-step" pictures.
But the dough for this bun is SO SO fluffy and pillowy soft! And when paired with the smokey paprika "empanada-esque" filling, the buns were less heavy than a traditional pastry crust empanada, but completely delicious nonetheless. So I wanted to share...
The dough is basically the milk bread recipe that came with my bread machine, except that I substituted the sugar with condensed milk for an even milkier taste, and added 1/2 t extra yeast, and decreased the salt by quite a bit.
For the filling, I mixed sausages with onions, potatoes and spices-- tasting along the way til I had something I liked. That's the great part about this filling-- since all the ingredients are cooked, you can adjust the seasonings to your liking before filling them into the dough balls.
Hope you give this recipe a try! If you don't want a pork filling, this beef curry filling (recipe here) would be tasty in these fluffy soft baked buns too.
Bonus: These buns freeze like a champ. Just place them in a Ziplock bag in a single layer. Squeeze out as much air as you can, and place them in the freezer. Thaw them out in the fridge a day before you want to eat them, and microwave each bun for 60 to 90 seconds to reheat.
Yields 8 buns
Ingredients for dough:
- 2 ½ c all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
- ¾ c whole milk, slightly warmed using the microwave
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ c sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ t yeast
- 1 T unsalted butter
- ¼ t salt
- ½ t turmeric (optional)
Ingredients for filling:
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage without the casing
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 small potato, peeled and diced small
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced small
- 2 scallions, diced
- 1 T dried basil
- 1 t garlic powder
- 1 T smoked paprika
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t ground black pepper
- 4 oz cream cheese
Ingredients for egg wash:
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 T water
Procedures:
1. If you have a bread maker, add all the dough ingredients to the bread maker and set it to the dough setting so that the bread maker will mix, knead, and rise the dough for you. If you don’t have a bread maker, then mix all the dough ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Then knead the dough for 15 minutes until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rise in a warm area for 45 minutes, or until approximately double in size. Note that the turmeric is there for color and is optional.
2. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Brown the sausage in a frying pan. When browned, drain out the accumulated oil and discard the oil. Add the onions, potatoes, and carrots to the frying pan and saute until the potatoes are soft and the onions are translucent. Then add scallions, basil, garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Continue to saute for 1 to 2 minutes with mixing. Then turn off the heat. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the cream cheese until everything is well mixed. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and paprika to your taste. Set aside until the dough is ready.
3. After the dough is done rising, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
4. Flatten each piece of dough into an elongated oval and place filling in the middle, shaping the filling into a log with your spoon or fingers. Pinch the bun closed so it is sealed and there’s no filling showing. Place the seam side down onto a parchment or silicone lined baking tray. Repeat until all 8 pieces of dough are used up.
5. Allow the filled buns to rise and rest for 15 minutes. (I usually turn on the oven set to 175F while I’m filling the buns. And when the temperature hits 175, I turn the oven off. Then once the buns are all filled, I pop the tray in the warm oven to rest the buns.).
6. Once the buns have rested for 15 minutes in a warm location, gently brush the tops of the bun with an egg wash. (This will give the buns a nice color and shine when baked.) Sprinkle smoked paprika on top of the egg wash for a little decoration if desired.
7. While applying the egg wash, set the oven to 375F. Once the temperature reaches 375F, place the tray of buns into the oven. Turn off the oven and reset the temperature to bake at 350F. Bake at 350F for 22 to 24 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating, as the filling will be very hot. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for the next day; or for long term storage, you can put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.