What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Carrot cake? Is it the moistness? The nuts? The icing, or decorations? Could it be the scent of the warm spices? These carrot cake buns recipe yield a soft bun, with the comforting carrot cake scents you love. So take a break this weekend and wow your family with these easy-to-make carrot cake buns and add them to your autumn bread recipes.
How to Make Carrot Cake Buns
This is just like any other basic bread recipe with an addition of grated carrots and spices so do not be intimidated. Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Prepare
Start off by grating the carrots, it’s important that you squeeze the juices out. The measured amount of the carrots below was done once the juice was squeezed out.
Next, mix the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Then bring the milk to the optimum temperature of 95°F/35°C.
Stir the maple syrup and yeast into the milk, then let that stand for a few minutes as you wait for the yeast to activate.
How will you know the yeast is activated? When you see a foamy cloud on top of the milk. Kind of like beer 🙂
Make sure your butter is softened and not melted. You know it’s good when you press into it and it leaves an indentation.
A little trick to softening butter that’s straight from the fridge? Cut it into cubes and place them in a bowl, then fill the bowl with room temperature water. Let that sit for about 10 minutes, in between that time you could press on the butter to see if it is at the right consistency.
Step 2: Knead and Rise
Once the yeast has activated, you can then add the carrots and orange zest to the flour mixture and run your fingers through it- coating the grated carrots with the flour.
Then sift the flour into a stand mixer bowl if using one, and leave the carrots in the sieve for the moment.
Pour the ‘yeast milk’ into the flour mixture and begin kneading on medium for a few minutes until the ingredients are incorporated. Then you can increase the speed to knead until gluten is formed.
How will you know the gluten has been formed? Since this is a wet dough and will still be sticky after gluten is formed. You will need to lightly butter your fingertips first. Then scoop a piece of the dough and perform the windowpane test by stretching the dough to create a ‘thin membrane’. The dough should not easily break when you pull it apart.
When the dough passes the windowpane test you can then proceed to add the salt and carrots. After that is properly kneaded into the dough you can finally add the butter.
Lightly butter a clean bowl and tip the dough into it. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size in a warm, draught-free place.
Step 3: Proof and Bake
Line a baking tray with parchment paper
Once the dough has risen to double its size you can now ‘punch it back’, tip it onto the counter, and portion it into equal weights of 105g each.
Cut strings into 11-inches
Roll each dough into a tight ball and tie 4 strings across each dough ball. Then transfer onto the baking tray, leaving ample space between the balls because they will need to have a second rise and will also expand during baking.
Lightly cover the carrot cake buns with cling film and a kitchen towel, and leave to proof for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 210°C/400F
Gently uncover the cling film and glaze the buns with egg wash (1 whisked egg plus 1 tbsp water).
Bake for 15 minutes. Halfway through that time, flip the baking trays for even browning. If baking two trays at a time put the one on the bottom on top and flip it around so the side that was at the front will now be at the back. And vice-versa for the one at the top.
Let the carrot cake buns cool on the baking trays then transfer them to a ziplock bag to retain the moisture.
Please give the fragrant carrot cake buns a thumbs up below.
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Another Bread Recipe You Might Like:
Cornebuns: Orange and Milk Buns
Fragrant carrot cake buns
(+5 rating, 1 votes)
Loading...Fragrant and simple carrot cake buns made with all the spices you like about carrot cake and more.
Ingredients
- 70 grated carrots (without its juice)
- zest of 2 oranges
- 480g (3 and 1/3 cup, plus 3 tbsp) strong bread flour
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- A pinch of cardamom powder
- 2 shakes of nutmeg
- 265ml (1 and 1/4 cup) whole milk
- 60g (3 tbsp) maple syrup
- 13g (1/2 tbsp) active dry yeast
- 1 small egg (52g)
- 60g Unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
- 11g (1/2 tbsp) salt
Instructions
Finely grate the carrots, it's important that you squeeze the juices out.
Stir the maple syrup and yeast into the warm milk and let that stand for a few minutes as you wait for the yeast to activate.
Only once the yeast has activated can you then sift the bread flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom into a bowl. And tip the grated carrots into it and rub the flour and carrots together with your fingertips. Then sift the flour into the stand mixing bowl and leave the flour-coated grated carrots in the sieve for the moment.
Whisk the egg into the 'milk' and pour into the flour mixture and begin kneading on medium for a few minutes until the ingredients are incorporated. Then you can increase the speed to knead until gluten is formed.
When the dough passes the windowpane test you can then proceed to add the salt, orange, and, carrots.
When that is properly kneaded in, you can finally add the butter. Knead on high speed for at least 3 minutes before stopping. The whole kneading could take 15-20 minutes.
Lightly butter a clean bowl and tip the dough into it. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size in a warm, draught-free place.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper
Once the dough has risen to double its size you can now punch back and tip it onto the counter, portioning into equal weights of 100g each.
Cut strings into 11-inches. Lay 4 strings interconnecting in the middle, then roll a weighed piece of dough and put it in the middle where the strings connect. Tie the strings and transfer them buns to the lined baking tray.
Repeat the same for the rest of the dough, leaving ample space between the balls because they will need to have a second rise and will also expand during baking.
Lightly cover the carrot cake buns with cling film and a kitchen towel, leave to rise again for an hour.
Glaze the buns with egg wash and bake on the middle oven rack at 210°C/400F for 15 minutes, making sure to turn the tray halfway for even browning.
Let the carrot cake buns cool on the baking trays then transfer to a ziplock bag to retain the moisture.
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