Years ago I used to work with a woman who made the best apple dumplings. They were unlike any other dumplings I have ever had. Most have an outer shell with a pie crust consistency but hers had a soft sweet bread like crust wrapped around a whole cored apple that was filled with brown sugar and raisins. There is something about this time of year that I always think of those dumplings so I’ve made kind of an inside out version of them with seasonal pears and chai spices.

Kristy

Ingredients:

For the buns

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 1/2 cups water, divided
• 4 cups whole wheat white flour
• 1/2 cup white chia seeds (regular chia seeds work just as well but will alter the color of the bread)
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp neutral flavor oil
• 2 tbsp organic soy milk powder
• 1 tbsp vinegar

For the fruit filling

• 2 ripe pears (Bosc or Anjou work well), cored and finely diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup maple sugar (you can use raw coconut crystals if you can’t find maple sugar)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 cup of water to between 100-110 degrees. Pour into a large bowl and add the maple syrup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. Set aside to “bloom” for at least 5 minutes.
2. Grind the chia seeds in a blender or coffee grinder. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, potato starch, baking powder, and oil. Stir well.
4. To the bowl of yeast add 3 cups of the flour, ground chia seeds, salt, milk powder, vinegar and starch mixture. Mix well.
5. Knead 15 minutes or about 10 minutes in a stand mixture with a dough hook adding the remaining flour as needed. The dough will still be somewhat sticky.
6. Remove to a large lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double.
7. Divide the dough into 16 portions and roll into balls. Place on a lightly greased pan(s) allowing room for the rolls to expand as they rise. Cover and let rise until double in size.
8. Prepare the filling by mixing together all of the filling ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Once the rolls have risen press down the center of each roll and flatten leaving about a 1/2 inch edge. Fill each roll evenly with the pear mixture.
10. Bake 15-18 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutritional Info:

Makes 16 fruit filled buns.

Serving size 1 bun.

Nutrients per serving:  Calories: 237, Cal. from Fat: , Total Fat: 6g, Sat. Fat: .5g, Carbs: 38g, Fiber: 7g, Sugars: 13g, Protein: 7g, Sodium: 230mg, Chol: 0mg

Notes:

Store leftovers in an airtight container for 1-2 days.