I'm bringing you these healthy buns with cheese dip so that you know eating healthy doesn't mean our food needs to be sad and boring. Not at all.
Look at these whole wheat buns, for example. You wouldn't expect that they are made with healthy natural ingredients if I didn't tell you, right?
Come on, let's be happy and healthy and check out this yummy recipe!
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Recipe Highlights
These buns are made with:
- 100% whole wheat flour
- natural sweetener
Taste and texture - Light and fluffy buns (we don't make dense bread here) with varieties of flavourful cheeses!
Size - 12 buns. Perfect snack for a small family or group of friends.
Level - Easy and fun. I let my trusty machine do all the hard work.
Lets Talk Ingredients
Flour - This recipe is made to use whole wheat flour. So don't change it. You could use bread flour but you might need to adjust the liquid amount (refer to the consistency in my video below).
Honey - Helps give the buns that flexible texture, so it's not only as a natural sweetener. Don't worry, it's just a hint of sweetness. You barely taste it.
SUBSTITUTION: Use the same amount of maple syrup or any type of sugar.
Cheeses - I use a combination of parmesan and mozzarella. I've used cheddar also and it worked amazing. Use your easy-melt favorite cheese, no problem. If you love cheese, then you'll also love my Brazilian cheese bread, it's delicious!
TIP: Make sure they're shredded and at room temperature so that they melt faster in the oven as the buns don't take long to cook.
Spinach - Frozen, thawed spinach works the best in this recipe. It's even more convenient. You can also use canned artichoke hearts, just chop them up.
Curry paste - I use strong spicy red curry paste. You can adjust the amount to your liking. You can also use pesto instead.
Seeds - I use sesame seeds but feel free to use whatever seeds that you prefer. Or simply skip them.
Can I Knead It By Hand?
My answer would be, yes you could.
Standing mixers didn't exist back then and yet people get to make and enjoy delicious homemade bread regardless.
Having said that, I should warn that this dough is on the sticky side. It will take you more effort in kneading it by hand, definitely. Greasing your hands with some oil now and then would help.
Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
Skillet Pull Apart Whole Wheat Buns (With Cheese Dip)
Video
Ingredients
The Buns
- 2 ½ cup whole wheat flour (325 g)
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast (7 g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey (20 g)
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- ½ cup full fat warm milk (125 ml)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter (75 g), soften in cubes
The Filling
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste , I use strong spicy paste
- 2 oz cream cheese (55 g), room temperature
- 2 oz frozen spinach (55 g), thawed
- ⅔ cup shredded parmesan (55 g), room temperature
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (100 g) , room temperature
Topping
- 1 egg , beaten for egg wash
- some white and black sesame seeds
Instructions
The Buns
- Add all ingredients except butter, into a standing mixer bowl. Using a hook attachment, mix to incorporate and then knead for 10 minutes. Now add the butter bit by bit until everything is well mixed and then continue to knead for another 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
- Scrape the dough into a greased bowl using a silicon scrapper. Cover the bowl tightly and leave at room temperature until the dough rises double its size.
The Filling
- Add red curry paste, cream cheese into a bowl and mix well using a spatula. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated. Set aside at room temperature.
Assembling & Baking
- Preheat oven at 350ºF (175ºC) using conventional mode, upper and lower heat. Grease a 10 ¼ inch iron cast skillet with some butter. Grease also the bottom and side of a 6 inch (15 cm) cake pan. Set aside.
- Once risen, place dough on a working surface and lightly knead into a log. Divide it evenly into 12 pieces and form each piece into a ball. Place the balls inside the skillet, touching the side and creating an empty space in the middle. Gently place the cake pan in it.
- Cover with a kitchen cloth and leave for 30 minutes or until the buns have puffed a bit. Remove the cake pan and pour the filling in its place. Finally brush the buns with some egg wash and then sprinkle both sesame seeds on top.
- Bake on lower ⅔ rack for 30 minutes or until the buns look golden brown and fully cooked. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes
- Use spoon and level method (for cup measurement)
- Use portable oven thermometer (like this one) for a more precise temperature reading (I use it too)
- Refer to my post above for tips and substitutions
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts provided are an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Florence says
Hi Bea,
Selamat Hari Merdeka for 31st August! 😃
I was just wondering if I could use this wholemeal bread dough for making cinnamon rolls or sardine buns. Do you think its possible?
Regards from your fellow Malaysian from PD 😊
Florence says
Hi again Bea,
Just wanted to update you… I made garlic dinner rolls using your recipe. It was soft & fluffy, can't believe its 100% wholemeal! I finally found a 100% wholemeal bread recipe that I can use to bake soft pillowy bread. Thank you so much for the recipe & video 😘
Will update you again if I use it for cinnamon roll or sardine buns 😊
Thanks again…
Bea says
Ah I just replied your question and here you are saying you made rolls out of it. AWESOME!! Yes, exactly. This recipe uses 100% whole wheat flour and yet it's not dense like the others. Do check out my other whole wheat recipes, I think you're going to love them also. Thank you so much!
Bea says
Hi Florence, Selamat Hari Merdeka to you too (better late than never they say! 😀 )
Even I've never tried it but I'm thinking, why not? This bread is super fluffy and is a blank canvas. Hope it helps!
Nuith says
We love bread but now we want to eat healthier. I found your recipe and decided to try it and I'm glad that I did.
We thought we won't like it because of the flour. But we liked it a lot!! Thanks for this!
Bea says
Yeay 🙌! I'm so happy that you gave it a go. We're healhtifying our recipes so that eating healthier is not a sad choice of lifestyle. Do check out more of our healthy(er) recipes here. Thank you Nuith!
Norma says
I just want to leave a comment telling you that I have made this recipe and it worked very good. The buns were not dense. I love this healthy recipe. I did not have curry paste so I added curry powder and it still tasted delicious.
Thank you.
Bea says
Happy to know that it worked for you, Norma. Thank you!
Jesse-Gabriel Pfoser says
Großartig, vielen Dank für das tolle Rezept und dein Video!
Viele Grüße sendet,
Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin
Bea says
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Have a nice weekend!