Starting the week with one of my favourite bread since childhood. The Whole Wheat Tutti Frutti Buns. Growing up, eating bread in a South Indian household was a rare occasion. Given that we are very partial with our healthy breakfast choices of idlis, dosas and the likes. It is only when either of us i.e. me and my sister literally begged, Ma got these tutii frutti buns that were sold by Wibs Company back then (1980's) in a pack of 2.
The buns were darn delicious, filled with tutti frutti. It was such fun to pluck out the tutti frutti bits from the bread and savour them. Nowadays, most Bakeries sell these breads but sadly, the quantity of tutti frutti has drastically reduced.
When I started baking breads at home some years ago, I made these tutti frutti buns and have been baking them since then, whenever we are looking for a change over the weekend.
Over the years, due to our commitment towards healthy food choices, I have made numerous changes in the recipe.
Why are these Whole Wheat Tutti Frutti Buns a healthy bake?
- Maida or All Purpose Flour is replaced with Whole Wheat Flour
- Eggless
- No Refined Sugar
- No Butter
Result - Same old childhood memories of sweet buns, just a healthy take!
These Whole Wheat Tutti Frutti Buns stay fresh for a day at room temperature and 3 to 5 days in refrigerator. You can warm them in the microwave, slice and add some butter, dunk in hot chai or tea or simply enjoy it on its own.
You may notice how soft these have turned out and are filled with tutti frutti, which is the best part of baking these buns at home. The joy of plucking out the tutti frutti from the bread is priceless!
These buns are not very sweet and we at home prefer the same. Also, I have kept the bun size very small and slightly flat to be able to slice if needed. I prefer making very small buns at home as they are good portion sizes to consume over a period of time.
Narayan tends to go a wee bit crazy over these buns as he loves it with his evening chai. I packed couple of them so that he could enjoy at work too and he did mention it being soft.
For kids, this is a sheer treat in tiffin box, sliced and buttered or as an after school snack with some warm milk. It would give them the much needed energy boost for their busy schedule ahead. Since it is made with aata or whole wheat flour, you need not worry about the empty calories and the excessive sugar, which is replaced with honey here.
No butter is added while baking or greasing, so you can be assured that it is not very heavy too for consumption. You can, however, serve it slightly warm with some butter and/or home made jam.
Taking this recipe to the #182DowntheMemoryLane hosted by Swaty this week, who blogs at Food Trails. These buns remind me immensely of my childhood. The need for occasional indulgences inspite of having a very strict budget at home, typical of any middle class family and coming a very long way to actually baking them at home with a healthy take. Life comes a full circle, doesn't it?
Wanna bake these beauties at home and reminisce your childhood carefree days? Head over to the recipes, check the notes and follow the details to enjoy a healthy bake for the entire family.
Looking for some whole wheat sweet bakes for kids, do try the Whole Wheat Choco Chip Muffins.
Step by Step Recipe for Whole Wheat Tutti Frutti Buns (Eggless, No Butter and Refined Sugar Free)
Makes 9 small buns as shown in the picture
(1) In a bowl, add 125ml lukewarm water + honey and mix well. Add the instant yeast, mix again and close the bowl with a lid allowing the yeast to bloom.
(2) Meanwhile, sift the whole wheat flour (twice) in a large bowl and keep aside.
(3) After 10 odd minutes the yeast would have bloomed.
(4) Add the yeast mixture to the whole wheat flour and knead it into a dough.
(5) Use more lukewarm water to knead the dough. It should be slightly sticky.
(6) After kneading the dough into the bowl, place the dough on the kitchen counter, add 1/2 tblsp of olive oil and knead the bread for 5 minutes.
(7) Add another 1/2 tblsp of olive oil and knead the bread further for 4 to 5 minutes until the bread dough feels soft and springs to touch.
(8) Place this kneaded dough in a well greased bowl for proofing. Anywhere between 1 to 2 hours is a good proofing time.
(9) Once it proves (double the size), knock the dough by punching once or twice and knead lightly.
(10) Add the 1/4 cup of tutti fruitti and knead it lightly so that it mixes well.
(11) Make equal balls and place them in a well greased tray at a distance.
(12) Cover the tray with a damp cloth and allow the buns to further prove until the are double in size.
(13) Once proved, preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.
(14) Spray or brush some milk before they go into the oven for baking.
(15) Bake the buns at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.
(16) Once baked, brush a tsp of olive oil and Serve them warm with a cup of tea or coffee.
Whole Wheat Tutti Frutti Buns (Eggless, No Butter and Refined Sugar Free)
Equipment
- OTG
- Square Tin 9" x 9" with 2.5 inch depth
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup is 250 ml
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Instant Yeast
- 1/4 cup Tutti Frutti
- 125 ml Lukewarm Water for kneading + extra as required
- Olive Oil (1 tbsp for kneading + extra as required to grease the bowl and baking tin) 1 tbsp is 15 ml
- 1 tbsp Milk read notes below
Instructions
- In a bowl, add 125 ml lukewarm water + honey and mix well.Add the instant yeast, mix again and close the bowl with a lid allowing the yeast to bloom.
- Meanwhile, sift the whole wheat flour (twice) in a large bowl and keep aside.
- After 10 odd minutes the yeast would have bloomed.
- Add the yeast mixture to the whole wheat flour and knead it into a dough.
- Use more lukewarm water to knead the dough. It should be slightly sticky.
- After kneading the dough into the bowl, place the dough on the kitchen counter, add 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and knead the bread for 5 minutes.
- Add another 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and knead the bread further for 4 to 5 minutes until the bread dough feels soft and springs to touch
- Place this kneaded dough in a well greased bowl for proofing. Anywhere between 1 to 2 hours is a good proofing time.
- Once it proves (double the size), knock the dough by punching once or twice and knead lightly.
- Add the 1/4 cup of tutti fruitti and knead it lightly so that it mixes well.
- Make equal balls and place them in a well greased tray at a distance.
- Cover the tray with a damp cloth and allow the buns to further prove until the are double in size.
- Once proved, preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Spray or brush some milk before they go into the oven for baking.
- Bake the buns at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Once baked, brush a tsp of olive oil or butter and serve them warm with a cup of tea or coffee.
Notes
- I tried this recipe during winters hence the proofing time is 4 hours. In summers, the time would be drastically reduced. Bread depends largely on weather conditions and if it is warmer, the proofing happens in 45 minutes also. It is important to use your judgement while baking. Thumb Rule - Dough should be double in size.
- Instant yeast can directly be added to the flour and kneaded. Since I was using honey which needs to mix well with the flour and water while kneading, I opted for the process at Sr. No. 1 above.
- Allow time for the 1st proofing. Do not hurry, especially with whole wheat bakes. The longer the proofing time, the softer the bakes would turn out.
- You can also knead the dough and place it inside the fridge (container with tight lid preferred) and allow it to slowly rise or proof overnight. The next day, bring the dough to room temperature, knock the dough, knead and proceed with the other steps of adding tutti frutti etc.
- I have used Organic Whole Wheat Flour. I use the same flour for making rotis or parathas at home. No added gluten is used here.
- You can replace olive oil with soft butter for this recipe. It tastes very delicious too. I have however, aimed at a healthy recipe.
- You can use sugar instead of honey.
- Milk gives a good glaze so spraying or applying milk with brush on the buns just before baking is highly recommended.
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Vidya Narayan