Part one of my challenge at here says that I want to bake delicious hot cross buns with the minimal amount of sugar!
Now, I want to bake delicious apple cinnamon hot cross buns with the minimal amount of sugar PLUS lots of apples!
So, I went ahead and baked them with applesauce, dried apples and the minimal amount of sugar. It was ok but not super soft or super nice! Have I failed? Hmmm... Not entirely. I just feel that the buns are not impressive enough to share the recipe with everyone.
Then, I had an idea! I realised that I can add applesauce and dried apple into the previous super soft hot cross buns recipe at here but not directly. Instead, I’m using this recipe, applesauce and dried apples to bake my apple cinnamon scrolls. With less sugar, of course...
My Super Soft Apple Cinnamon Scrolls
Made with lots of apples and less sugar!
My cinnamon apple hot cross buns
that I baked with applesauce, dried apples and minimal amount of sugar.
It was ok but not super nice enough to share.
Then, I had an idea!
I incorporated applesauce and dried apple into a super soft bread
... by baking them into apple cinnamon scrolls.
Happy now...
I've passed with distinction! LOL!!!
I have this theory... Who needs sugar if the food fragrance and texture win it all?
For example, if I have to eat one super soft bread and one stale bread "happily", I could eat the super bread plain on its own and couldn’t eat the stale bread without anything that is sweet, creamy or tasty with it. Are you the same?This is why I can bake these super soft apple scrolls EXTRA NICE with lots of apples and LESS sugar. Way less sugar than all of the recipes that I have seen everywhere!!!
Ok... Let’s do a Google search for “apple scrolls” and compare. Depending on your IP address, you might get a different recommended recipe. Anyway, the first recipe that I saw from my search is a non-yeasted apple scrolls recipe. It seems easy and straightforward but with the same amount of flour used, the non-yeasted scrolls contain 160g butter, 200g sugar and just 1 fresh apple! Mine contains 45g butter, 65g sugar, 100g applesauce and 90g dried apples. The total amount of apples added into my scrolls is equivalent to about 6 1/2 fresh apples!!!Next, I saw a yeasted apple scrolls recipe that is published in a popular baking blog. The recipe uses 4 1/2 cups of flour and so I down-scaled the recipe to 300g flour in order to compare with mine. Based on my calculations per 300g flour used, this “highly-rated” apple scrolls recipe contains 107g butter, 190g sugar with icing or 126g without the icing and just 1 apple!!! OMG! That is heaps of unnecessary sugar and hardly any apples!!!I’m sorry if I sounded negative or biased against recipes that contain more sugar. I must admit any bakes with sugar are delicious but in reality, we have been consuming ridiculously excessive amount of sugar. Hence, I would like to create an awareness here that we can bake something nice even if we choose to bake with less sugar.Are you fully convinced that my apple scrolls with moderate amount of added sugar and butter is the way to go for healthful baking? By the way, my apple scrolls are also freezer-friendly. So no big deal for those sugary apple scrolls recipes that claim that their scrolls are freezer-friendly because mine with less sugar are freezer-friendly too.If you are interested to bake these apple scrolls, please watch my video. It will show you how I baked mine.Music: Bensound
You might ask... Why do I use dried apples instead of fresh apples? 80% of fresh apples contain their juices which will be released and weigh the dough down during baking, killing the fluffiness of the bread eventually. Hence, if you want your breads to contain lots of apple, you will have to use dried apples. You might want to know that dried apples are not a rare ingredient and you can buy dried apples in most supermarkets, health shops and also online.I hope that you will like my recipes and baking tips. If you do, please LIKE, SHARE and FOLLOW my Facebook at here or here or my Instagram @zoebakeforhappykids or SUBCRIBE my YouTube channel at here. I just want to say that your support means a lot to me. You will help to motivate a busy full-time working mom like me to bake and share more.
Thank you and have a lovely Easter!!!
It's time that I need a break from blogging again! I'm taking a short Easter break to spend more time with my family.
Meanwhile, please stay tune by following my blog and social media. I promise that I'll be back soon at about mid-Apr 2021, sharing more delicious recipes and baking video. Ciao!
Here's the recipe.
Makes 9 buns in one 23 cm (9 inches) square pan
For the bread dough:
160g water, lukewarm
50g egg, weight without the shell, at room temperature (about 1 extra-large eggs but please use the exact weight)
1 tbsp vanilla paste or extract
300g bread flour with 12% protein
20g caster sugar
20g milk powder - Do not replace milk powder and water with milk!
2g salt
45g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp instant yeast
For the filling:
90g unsweetened steamed-cooked apple purée or applesauce
45g dark muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
90g dried apples, finely chopped
For egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp milk
extra butter or vegetable oil spray to grease baking pan
extra bread flour for dusting and shaping
For the bread dough:
If you are using a breadmaker to knead and prove the dough, add all ingredients into the breadmaker according to this order. Use "dough" setting to mix and knead dough for 30 mins or until the dough is elastic and stretchy. Allow the dough prove for 1 hr or until doubled in size.
If you are using an electric mixer with an hook attachment to knead, combine all ingredients except butter in the mixing bowl and mix at low speed until a soft dough forms. Then, knead in the butter until incorporated. Continue to knead at low speed for at least 25 mins or until the dough is elastic. It is important that the dough has to be elastic and stretchy. Cover the dough and allow the dough to prove in a warm and humid place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size.
Grease one 23cm (9 inches) square pan with butter or vegetable oil spray. Using your lightly floured hands, divide dough into 9 equal portions (about 67g each) on well-floured surfaces. Pull, stretch and shape all portions into smooth balls and allow them to rest for about 10 mins.
Use a rolling pin to roll each dough into long strip as thin as possible. Spread one side of the rolled dough with about 10g apple purée. Combine dark muscovado sugar and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle about 5g dark muscovado sugar-cinnamon mixture and 10g dried apples evenly on each rolled dough. Pick one shorter side of the dough and roll it tightly like a Swiss roll. Repeat this shaping step for the remaining portions of the dough and arrange them in the prepared pan with one of their rolled sides facing up. Press the top of the dough lightly to form an even surface.
Allow the bread to rise in a warm and humid place for another 1 hr or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven 350°F or 180°C.
For the egg wash, combine egg yolk and milk. Brush bread with egg wash.
Bake for 15 mins or until golden brown and thoroughly baked inside. If the top of the breads are becoming brown too quickly, cover the breads very loosely with aluminum foil at the last 5 mins of bake and continue to bake until thoroughly baked. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store any leftover in an airtight container at room temperature when they are completely cooled so that they will remain soft and moist even on the next day. Alternatively, you can store the scrolls in zip-lock bags, then in a freezer for up to 2 weeks. If you are consuming the scrolls on the next day or so, I suggest that you should warm the scrolls using a microwave with high power for 20 secs. If the scrolls are frozen, thaw them in a fridge overnight then microwave with high power for 20 secs for each scroll just before consumption. I promise. The scrolls will be super soft, moist and nice just like they have been freshly baked.
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