Jagodzianki (Polish bilberry buns)

After making that pavlova today, I had quite a lot of bilberries left over (Dad bought half a kilo). Well, if you’re going to go with the flow, go with the flow. Just let it carry you along.

What carried me along, really, was a memory. Definitely not of me eating bilberry buns, but of Jacek telling me how he allegedly (I still don’t believe him) inhaled (there’s no other word for it in this context) 32 of them last week. Small ones, admittedly, but still.

Between the memory of Jacek’s buns and that great big bowl of bilberries in the kitchen, I found the energy to make bilberry buns this evening. Mind you, they do take quite a bit of energy. I started at 17.30 and they came out of the oven about 15 minutes ago.

I’ve tasted them now and they’re good. Fair warning, though: these aren’t particularly sweet buns. So if you’re expecting or craving a really sweet afternoon treat, sprinkle a good deal more icing sugar on the berries than I did. Personally, I’d recommend them just like this, with the bilberries giving them a pleasantly tart edge. Try them while we’re awash in berries.

PS

In a few buns, two or three, I put bilberries and a few redcurrants. They came out even tarter. Very respectable, though (you can see one in the photo below).

At a glance: 

Prep time: 25 minutes

Rising time: 2 rises of 1 hour each

Baking time: 15 minutes

Oven temperature: 180 degrees Celsius

Serves: the dough makes 12 bilberry buns

Calories: hehehe, let’s say it’s all berries 😉

Ingredients for not-too-sweet bilberry buns:

• about 450 grams of wheat flour (I started with 400 grams but had to dust with quite a lot more as the dough was sticky)
• 3/4 glass of milk
• 1/4 glass of olive oil
• 1 hen’s egg
• a packet of instant yeast
• 3/4 glass of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• about 100–150 grams of bilberries
• about 12 tablespoons of icing sugar

Method (knead the dough as you would for pizza):

I mixed the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a deep bowl. I added the egg, milk and olive oil and mixed thoroughly. I turned it out onto the worktop and kneaded it briskly until smooth and elastic. It was very sticky, so be prepared to dust with plenty of flour.

Once the dough was ready I put it back in the bowl (dusted with flour to stop it sticking), covered it with a tea towel and left it to rise for an hour.

After an hour I took the dough out of the bowl and shaped it into a long log on the worktop. I cut it into 12 pieces with a knife. I flattened each piece (a bit like a pizza) and put about a tablespoon of bilberries in the middle. With the berries on the dough I sprinkled a tablespoon of icing sugar over them and pinched the dough shut. I set the buns on a tray lined with baking paper (leave space between them, as they still have to rise and will stick together if they’re too close).

When all the buns were shaped I covered them with tea towels (I had two trays) and left them to rise again for about 40–50 minutes.

Half an hour in, I started heating the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Once it was hot I brushed the buns with milk and baked them for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned as in the photo. The buns are ready.

Out of the oven, I transferred them to a plate (sometimes you have to peel them off the paper because they stick) and dusted them with icing sugar. You can serve them warm or wait until they’re completely cool. They’re delicious. Enjoy!