This honeycomb bread is originally from the Middle East and is normally stuffed with spiced mince-meat for a savory bread or with cheese for a sweet bread. We wanted to give our own twist to it and boy is this flavor combination good.
The earthiness of the roasted mushrooms pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the caramelized onions. Add in the creamy, tangy goat cheese and these buns become an explosion of flavor. The dough is also super easy to make and holds its structure even with the stuffing.
These buns can be made as an appetizer or a snack, but be forewarned, these will be gone in no time.
PS if you haven’t tried roasting mushrooms, we highly recommend it, it’s an easy and delicious way to eat them!
Roasted Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese Buns
Honeycomb bread stuffed with a mushroom, onion and goat cheese filling.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 tbsp water warm to about 95 F
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp active-dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (313 g) sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (30 g) at room temperature
- ½ cup warm milk (125 g)
Filling
- 8 oz white mushrooms sliced
- 1 tsp salt divided
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper divided
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 yellow onions medium, sliced
- ⅔ cup goat cheese (5.5 oz) packed
Topping
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Filling
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- Place the sliced mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and toss to evenly combine. Spread the mushrooms so they are in an even layer.
- Place the mushrooms in the oven for about 45 minutes, flipping them about halfway, or until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms have become slightly crispy.
- While the mushrooms are roasting, caramelize the onions by heating the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Season with the remaining salt and pepper and toss to combine. Let the onions caramelize, stirring occasionally, but making sure they don’t burn. This will take about 30-40 minutes.
- Once the onions and mushrooms are done, set them aside to cool.
Dough
- To make the dough, mix the 2 tbsp of warm water with the ½ tsp of sugar and once the sugar is dissolved, add the yeast. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes or until the yeast has bubbled up.
- While the yeast proves, mix the flour, salt, egg, and butter together. Add the yeast and mix.
- Add the milk little by little while kneading the dough. Once all the milk has been added, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough will start out quite wet but will eventually become elastic and smooth.
- Once the dough is smooth, cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for at least an hour or at least doubled in size.
Assembly
- While the dough is rising, mix the cooled mushrooms and onions together in a bowl. Add the goat cheese and mix well.
- Prepare a baking pan (we used a 9-inch cake pan) with edges by lining the bottom with parchment paper.
- Fold the dough inwardly until all the air is knocked out from the dough. Roll out the dough into a 2-inch diameter log. Cut the log into 15 evenly sized pieces. Roll each piece out flat into a 3-inch diameter circle.
- Fill each circle with the filling, about 1-2 tbsp in each bun, and bring the edges together and pinch together. Roll each piece into a ball, being careful to not let the dough tear. Arrange the balls into the prepared baking pan in concentric circles with the pinched side down, leaving about a ¼-inch between the balls.
- Cover the pan and let the dough rest for about an hour.
- About 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake the buns, preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Right before baking, brush the tops of the buns with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes or until the tops of the buns are golden brown. Serve warm.
