These are great buns! They are soft, squishy, sweet without being cloying, and they taste of butter and rum. I add a few toasted nuts--usually pecans or walnuts--to the filling for extra crunch. Although the buns aren't exactly "healthy," I do include some white whole-wheat flour in the dough, which increases the fiber content of the buns and also adds a bit to the flavor of the buns. The buns are easy to make, and you can make them ahead and reheat them in the air fryer. I usually cook the buns in my air fryer to save on electricity and, when it's hot outside, to avoid heating up my kitchen. You can bake the buns on a baking sheet in a conventional oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, if you'd prefer. Although I usually glaze the buns, they also are great left plain. The buns make a nice weekend breakfast treat. They also are great weekday snacks with tea, coffee, or even a glass of milk. Enjoy!
Sourdough Butter Rum Buns or Rolls -- Makes 8+
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or use regular whole-wheat flour)
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of rum extract
1 teaspoon of butter extract
In a large bowl mix together well the starter/discard, canola oil, egg, sugar, white whole-wheat flour, milk, and extracts. Loosely cover the mixture and let it sit for at least an hour. I usually let my mixture sit for 3-5 hours, and it's fine. When you're ready, add:
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Mix/knead in the flour and salt well, then dump the mixture out onto the counter and knead it for 3-5 minutes, gradually adding in another 1/4 cup of flour as you knead to prevent the dough from being too sticky. Flour the counter well and press the dough out into a rectangle or square about 1/2-inch thick. Spread the dough with the filling below, then roll up the dough, jelly-roll-style, into a log. With a sharp knife, cut the log, crosswise, into slices, each about an inch-to-inch-and-a-half thick. Cut small pieces of aluminum foil to fit in the bottom and about two inches up the sides of your air fryer basket. Spray the foil well with non-stick cooking spray. Place 3-4 dough slices, not quite touching, on each piece of foil. Loosely cover the buns with plastic wrap and let them rise until they increase in volume by about one-third. This usually takes a couple of hours but will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Put one dough-topped piece of foil in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the buns at 320 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden. Remove the buns from the air fryer to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough. Eat the buns plain, or you can top them with the glaze below while they are warm.
Filling
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 teaspoon of rum extract
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of chopped toasted nuts
Mix all the filling ingredients together and spread the mixture on top of the pressed out dough before rolling up the dough.
Glaze
3/4 cup of confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon of butter
1-2 tablespoons of water
1/4 teaspoon of rum extract
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or cup and microwave them for about 30 seconds. Stir the mixture well until it's smooth. You may need to microwave it again for 10-15 seconds, then stir it again. Drizzle the hot glaze over the warm buns. If the glaze hardens up in the cup, drizzle in 1/2 teaspoon of water and microwave the glaze for 10-15 seconds, then stir it well and keep drizzling.
