Sweet Triangle Buns Filled with Caramelized Corn Flour

Kete

For these sweet buns, a specialty of Çamlıhemşin Valley, 20 minutes inland from the Black Sea, corn flour is browned in butter until they take on a caramelized butterscotchy flavor. The dough comes together quickly and is easy to handle. The buns are delicious hot out of the oven. They also freeze and reheat well in a 350°F oven, wrapped in aluminum foil. This recipe is from Zeyne Şişman.

Preparation time: 1¾ hours, plus 2 hours rising time

Makes 10 large buns

• For the dough
• 2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 7 cups plus 3 tablespoons (36 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1¾ teaspoons fine sea salt
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¾ cup whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature
• For the filling
• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 cups corn flour or fine cornmeal (not cornstarch)
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup water
• For the wash
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• Pinch of fine sea salt

1. Make the dough: To mix in a stand mixer, follow the instructions here. Put the milk in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over. Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar in another bowl. Add the egg and yogurt to the milk and mix. Add the flour mixture and use a dough scraper or sturdy spatula to mix and cut the ingredients together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead, adding flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until at least doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

2. While the dough is rising, make the filling: Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Add the corn flour or cornmeal and mash and stir it into the butter (a heatproof flexible spatula works well here) to make a crumbly mixture. Stir and turn the mixture constantly as it goes from yellow to mustard in color. After a few minutes, it will begin to smell toasty, and at about the 10-minute mark, you’ll begin to see spots of brown. Keep stirring for another 4 minutes or so, until the mixture is the yellow-brown of coarse Dijon or German mustard. Press the mixture over the bottom of the pan, sprinkle over the sugar and salt, and pour in the water (be careful, the water may splatter). Quickly stir the ingredients together, then lower the heat and continue cooking and stirring for 3 to 5 more minutes, until the mixture thickens and holds its shape on the spatula. Spread the filling on a large plate to cool.

3. Turn the dough out and divide it in half, then divide each half into 5 pieces. Form the pieces into rounds, cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, and let relax for 5 minutes.

4. Place the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.

5. Assemble the buns: With your fingers and the heel of your hand, press one dough ball out into a 5-inch round. Place 2 slightly mounded tablespoons of filling on the dough and spread it to within ½ inch of the edges. With the thumbs and forefingers of both hands, pick up the edges of the dough at 10 and 2 o’clock, bring them together, and pinch to form a point at the top of the dough. Bring the bottom edge of the dough up and seal all the edges to form a rough triangle. Be sure that the edges of the dough are well sealed—fold them over and pinch again if necessary. Pick up the bun (a dough scraper helps here), flip it over, and lay it on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, placing the buns no more than 1 inch apart, 5 on each pan. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. Make the wash: Beat together the egg, water, and salt in a small bowl.

8. Brush the buns generously with the egg wash. Bake until they are a dark caramel color, about 20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before serving, or transfer to wire racks to cool completely before storing, wrapped in plastic wrap.