Acorn honey steam bun
Recipe developed by Jed Wheeler of Manzanita Cooperative
This bread recipe is a bit different because it uses steam to cook. I was inspired by Chinese steamed pork buns which use rice flour, and wanted to test whether steaming would work with Acorn and what impact it would have on flavor and texture. The result was a soft, spongey, slightly chewy bread with a texture somewhere between Ethiopian Injera and an Chinese Pork bun; with a flavor reminiscent of a really good fresh pretzel. I used thick slices as the foundation for open-face burgers and it was a big hit! Cold bread the next morning sliced beautifully for sandwiches. For best results, cook it in large buns or a small loaf.
Ingredients
3 cups leached acorn mash (the last step before you would normally squeeze out the water and then dry and grind to flour). The mash tends to have a much stronger acorn flavor and more starch content than dry flour. You could also used 2.5 cups of storebought acorn flour and add water until the flour is hydrated but there is no liquid left.
2 cups wheat flour, or rice flour if you want to make the recipe gluten free
2 eggs
Yeast
4 tbs local wild flower honey
Salt to taste
1 cup warm water
Process
Add yeast, a quarter cup of the acorn mash, and a quarter cup of wheat or rice flour to a large bowl. Pour in warm water and add half the honey. Whisk to mix thoroughly. Let sit someplace warm but not hot (around 90 degrees is ideal) for an hour. If you have a toaster oven, it may have a “fermentation” setting, which is ideal.
The longer proof time is essential because yeast bred for wheat flour will take time to adapt to the acorn.Once proofed, add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly to make a wet sticky dough.
Knead dough either by hand or machine, thoroughly until you can feel the dough stretch and return a little bit. This will take 5-6 minutes by machine or 8-10 by hand. You won’t get the stretch of a wheat flour and, being majority acorn, there is little risk of it getting tough from over-kneading. If using rice flour, you can skip the kneading step.
Form buns. I did a number of test cooks and the sweet spot seems to be a bun about the size of a softball. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of that size - my kids devoured them too quickly. I’ll update with better photos after the next batch!
Let rise for another 1.5 - 2 hours until dough has doubled in size
Bring water to boil in your steamer and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Sprinkle top of buns with salt or other seasonings as you prefer
Place buns in steamer and cover. Depending on size of cooking will take 15-20 minutes
Remove from heat and let cool
