Almond wholewheat Piggy buns & loaf

Another week gone, and I am still slacking! I really need to get my momentum going on my posting. I have not been blogging much but I have been more active on my new "passion"....Instagram, lol! If you are too an Instagram user, do come look for me and search for "honeybeesweet88" and you will find me. :P Do drop me a comment if you find me there ya?

Okay, back to my posting. It's been more then a month since my last bread post...geese, so unlike me! Lol! Anyway, I bake bread at least once a week...but this particular recipe has been my favorite lately. After my "Snake buns" episode, I decided to bake something fun again this time...piggy buns!!! *Oink* (ok, it's not a hint about my personality ah, lol!)

 

I just love these chubby-face piggies, haha! I had fun fun fun making them too! My kids were picking off their eyes, ears and snout when they eat their piggies, haha! This recipe is pretty much similar to the multigrain snake buns I posted earlier. But instead of almond+walnut+oats puree, I used almond+brown rice and wholewheat. :) But I do apologise that I didn't get to snap any pictures while I was shaping the piggies. :P But its not too complicated...read on. :P

Ingredients for Healthy Piggy Buns (recipe by HoneyBeeSweets)
Filling:

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into big chunks
5 slices of think ham, cut into small squares
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp powder sugar

• Boil the potatoes in a pot of water till it is fork tender. Scoop out and mash well.
• Then mix together with the rest of the ingredients and set aside for the buns later.

Dough:

420g bread flour
55g brown rice powder/ flour (you can sub this with rice flour)

40g wholewheat flour (I used Prima)
50g caster sugar
6g salt
7g instant active yeast
150g almond+brown rice puree  (I got this from my soymilk machine, you can use okara too)
160ml fresh milk
200ml water (+- 15 ml ; add as per needed )  

30g unsalted butter

3 slices of kraft cheese, cut into 4 squares in each slice (yields 12 small squares)

some mini chocolate chips for eyes 

• In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter. Stir and mix till everything comes together to form a pliable dough.
• Continue kneading till the  dough becomes elastic and pulls away from the side of the bowl and not sticky anymore.
• Add in the butter and continue to knead till it reaches window stage. 
• Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover to let proof for 1.5-2hrs till it doubled in size.
• Punch out the air and divide the dough into 50g & 18g portions. (Note:  I made ~9 piggy buns & a plain loaf (9x4x5).)
• First take the pig head, take a 50g portion and roll flat into a flat disc shape. Place one cheese square at the center, then 30g of the filling over the cheese. Seal up the edges into a roll ball.Then using your palm, press it down slightly to make it a slightly flat for more face "area".
•  
• Take the 18g portion, divide into 5g, 5g & 8g. The two 5g are for the ears and the 8g for the snout. Roll round and stick the snout and ears on the main face dough surface.
• Using tooth pick, dip it in some cooking oil (prevent sticking) then poke the nose to create the nostrils. For the ears, use kitchen scissors to snip the lower end to create an opening.

• Lastly stick 2 mini chocolate chips above the snout to make the eyes. Let it proof for at least 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 175C.
• Then bake these buns in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes till slight golden brown. 

I really love the filling! I wondered why I never use that combination before, lol! 

With the remaining dough, I made a plain loaf as well. :) I guess I can just let the pictures do all the talking ya? :D

Hope this recipe will also become a favorite for you and your family too. And have fun baking those piggy heads too! :) Have a fantastic day everyone!