These little buns are great for breakfast or with a cup of tea or coffee. They are sweet but not cloyingly so. They also are cute with a dab of jam in the center. I like to use strawberry jam, but use whatever type you like/have on hand. The buns are mild in flavor--vanilla, with a bit of nutmeg--sort of like a jelly doughnut only better for you! You can make the buns in the regular oven or the air fryer. I often use the air fryer to avoid warming up the kitchen during the summer months, and the buns come out nicely browned (see the photos below). Enjoy!
Sourdough Jam Buns -- Makes 12-18
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1 large egg
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
Jam, your favorite kind/what you have
Sugar or cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle
In a large bowl combine the starter/discard, egg, sugar, oil, and vanilla and beat them together well. Stir in the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg until well mixed. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with baking parchment, or, for the air fryer, cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoon scoops of the wet dough onto the baking parchment, spacing the dough mounds two inches apart on the baking sheets and at least an inch apart on the parchment sheets for the air fryer. Flatten the mounds slightly with your hand and make a small indentation in the center of each dough mound with the back of a quarter teaspoon measure or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with about a quarter teaspoon of jam. Sprinkle the tops of the buns with a little sugar or cinnamon sugar. You can bake the buns immediately or let them sit for an hour or two to develop their sourdough flavor and rise a bit. When you're ready to bake, preheat the regular oven to 350 degrees and bake the buns for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. For the air fryer, place a dough-topped piece of parchment in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the buns at 320 degrees for 12-16 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough after removing the cooked batch from the air fryer.
