Candied Bacon Semolina Buns

I can't really remember when or where I got this idea of combining candied bacon with bread. Or perhaps its a natural thing to do after all. Sweet and salty, slightly crisp and yet a little chewy with the meaty parts, pairing with those soft buns, seems all too right. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water, haha :P And adding semolina flour into the bread dough is also one of the to-do items in my bake list. I always wonder how it taste like with the addition of semolina in the bread. It turns out pretty subtle. Perhaps I had added too little this time round as the taste wasn't evident at all. But the bread did turn out really soft, so all is not lost! Still a successful bake if I may say so myself. :P

I suggest buying thin cuts, reduced sodium bacon, for health purpose and also for a better flavoured bun overall. I reckon the original bacon will be too salty and might be a little overwhelming and thick cuts will be harder to crisp up. Do try places like Cold Storage which carries a wider variety of bacon cuts.

Ingredients for Candied Bacon Semolina Buns (Makes 10-12)

Pre-fermented dough

• 250g bread flour
  160ml water
  3g instant dry yeast
  1g salt
  • Knead everything together till it forms a soft pliable dough. No need to be smooth. Divide dough into 50g or100g portions depending on your needs and let chill in fridge up to 12 hours. Alternatively store in freezer up to 3 months.

100g Pre-fermented dough
300g bread flour
50g semolina flour
1 large eggs (50g without shell)
150ml water
20g milk powder
3g salt
50g caster sugar
5g instant active yeast
30ml olive oil

8-10 strips thin cuts bacon (preferably reduced sodium kind)
1/2 cup (125g) light brown sugar
Anori for deco (dried seaweed flakes) -optional

• Knead all ingredients of the main dough together. Add pre-ferment dough piece by piece. Knead after each addition until soft and smooth. Knead until stretchable and pass the window panel consistency.
• Put the dough into a big bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let it prove for 30minutes till double.
• Divide the dough into 60grams portions. Flatten each portion with your hands to drive the air out. Roll it into square shape, cover with a damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes before shaping.

• Take one of the dough portions, press out the air then roll out flat into an oval shape. Then from the longer end, roll it up like a swiss roll. Pinch the edges to seal and press it slightly to have flatter surface area to allow the bacon to rest on top. Repeat for all the dough portions. Alternatively, you can just roll them round and also press the surface to flatten it. (yups, I shaped some piggy buns too heehee)

• While the buns are proofing, preheat the oven to 170C. 
• Prepare the bacon strips: Place the bacon strips into the bowl of brown sugar and rub it in, coating the bacon with it.

• Then lay the bacon strips over the proofed buns, careful not to deflate the buns. Notice that I braided some of the bacon. Let your creativity flow!

• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes till the bacon crisp up and the buns are golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool on the rack. Sprinkle some Anori if desired. Enjoy!

These buns can be enjoyed the following day by toasting them up either on the pan or under the broiler for a couple of minutes to toast it up well. 

I have even posted up a "musical"...I mean a short video to show you how soft and fluffy these buns are! Do check it out and experience the fluffiness haha! However you need Flashplayer to view this, so go download it here https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ This flash player can only work on desktop though.

Alternatively, head on over to my instagram account @IG_HoneyBeeSweets to check out this breadporn video. :)

The sweet and salty, crisp Bacon was such a delight to eat with the soft buns. Really quite the satisfying experience for a bacon and bread lover inside me. :9

Happiness in a bun....that's what this is. Do give this delicious buns a try and let me know how you like them yes? Oh and before I forget...those piggy buns :P

Yeah....life's a little more fun if you add more fun into it. ;)

Have a good day ahead guys!