Buns (Egg-free)

Continuing the egg-free baking theme I wanted to have an egg-free version of my basic bun recipe. To achieve this goal, I needed two slightly different egg-substitutes: some extra liquid for the dough (I went for soured/thickened milk) and something for brushing the buns immediately prior to baking (I went for whole milk). As an aside I felt like using whole wheat flour - and so it went..

Ingredients:
- 150 g (¹/₃ lb) margarine
- 5 dL (2 cups) milk
- 50 g (2 oz) fresh yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1.1 kg (2.4 lbs) whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.5 dl (1 cup) A-fil^[1]
- 130 g (4.5 oz) flax seed
- 100 g (3.5 oz) sunflower seeds
- a little whole milk for brushing
- poppy seeds for decorating

The margarine was put in a small pot together with the milk and heated on medium-low heat till the margarine was melted. This mixture was transferred to a large bowl and allowed to cool to lukewarm before adding crumbled fresh yeast and sugar. The first half of the flour was stirred in, followed by the salt, thickened milk, flax seed, and sunflower seeds. The rest of the flour was added little by little and kneaded into the dough until the dough had the right texture (I aimed for neither sticky nor crumbly). When enough flour was added the final dough was kneaded for an additional couple of minutes before shaping 32 buns and placing them on baking sheets lined with baking paper - with good distance between them. The shaped buns were covered with a cloth and left to rise on the baking plates for 45 minutes.

The risen buns were brushed with a little whole milk and sprinkled with poppy seeds before being baked in the middle of the oven at 200 C (400 F) for 15-16 minutes. After baking the buns were immediately moved from the baking plate to a grid for even cooling.

This worked quite well.

^[1] Lactobacillus acidophilus-fermented milk.