Baking with Michelle Darmody: Savoury buns
he process of baking can be relaxing, the gentle weighing of the flour, the slow stirring of ingredients together, and the satisfaction of watching a cake rise through the steamy glass of your oven are therapeutic on a cold winter’s evening.
The problem that inevitably arises is that you now have a whole tray of cakes sitting in front of you waiting to be eaten. One might do if you are out visiting a bakery or cafe but at home, with a nice freshly baked tray of cakes, one is never enough. Savoury baking can be the best of both worlds, you have the evening of mixing and weighing, the smells wafting through the house but your sugar intake does not go into overdrive.
It is best to line the bun tin to ensure the savoury buns can be removed with ease. If you do not have a paper case, cut a small square of parchment and fold it into the shape of the recess in the tin.
Bun cases or cupcake cases do make life easier. It is thought the name was first used because these individual cakes were the size of a cup and were originally baked in ceramic moulds before the paper case was invented.
The individual nature of the buns make them handy for snacks and also easy to pack into a lunch box.
The mini bites can be made in larger cases if you wish, just up the cooking time by about 10 minutes to ensure they are cooked through.
A dash of olive oil
60g of finely chopped red onion
a small bunch of thyme, stalks removed and leaves very finely chopped
150g of flour
150g of spelt flour
1 tsp of baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250 mls of milk
85g of butter, melted
100g of cheddar cheese, grated
60g of sweetcorn
a handful of seeds
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Line bun tin with 12 bun cases of a square of parchment pressed into each hole. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion until it is translucent, stir in the thyme and set aside.
Sieve the flours and baking powder into a large bowl. Mix the eggs and the milk together. Pour the mixture gently into the flour, stirring all the time.
Stir in the melted butter until it is completely combined. Stir in the cheese and sweetcorn and the sauteed onion.Spoon the mixture into the waiting bun cases and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake for 25 minutes until golden on top and cooked through.
240 mls of milk
60 mls of a light olive oil
1 egg
115g of pumpkin, mashed and cooled
zest of 2 lemons
a small bunch of chives, chopped
2 smoked streaky rashers, cooked and finely chopped
250g of self-raising flour, sieved
60g of feta cheese crumbled
a handful of pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a bun tin with either paper cases or squares of parchment.
Whisk the milk, oil and egg together. Add the mashed pumpkin, lemon zest, chives and rashers and stir them in well.
Add the cheese to the flour and then add the other egg mixture to the flour. Combine everything.
Spoon the mixture into the 12 waiting bun cases, sprinkle with the seeds, and bake for 20 minutes.
300g of flour
1 tsp of baking powder
½ tsp of bread soda
2 eggs
250 mls of milk
90g of butter melted
a handful of baby spinach, very finely chopped
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
40g of feta, crumbled
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line mini cupcake tins with small cases.
Mix the flour, baking powder and soda and sieve it into large bowl.
Lightly beat the eggs and the milk and add them to the flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon or on the low speed of a mixer. Add in the melted butter and make sure it is all combined.
Stir the the spinach, parsley and feta.
With two small spoons scoop the mixture into the mini cases until they are three quarters full.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. They are really small so keep an eye on them as each oven is different.
