I must admit these were so not what I had in mind, these are not purple buns, but they turned out amazing.
The first idea that came in my mind that I used a purple sweet potato, but I
totally forgot that I had used them for a different dish before. Then I used a regular sweet potato, so they turned out looking like regular bread.
But everything turned to be unpredicted too. The pull-apart bread turned out so amazing when they were steamed. If you have been searching your entire life for bread without the crust that’s so soft and feel like fluffy clouds, this is it!
This bread is pretty sweet for me! I don’t recommend you to replace white grape juice with water, as the sugar feeds the yeast.
Note: If you really can’t find purple sweet potatoes, you can omit it. It probably won’t be as sweet, but it will still work.
- 1 medium purple sweet potato/yam, mashed
- ½ cup white grape juice, lukewarm
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk, lukewarm
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt`
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon concord grape juice
- 1 tablespoon phytoberry powder (or acai/berry powder)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Give the oven about 5 minutes to warm up, then put the purple sweet potato in the oven for about an hour. Pierce the middle with something sharp like a toothpick. If it feels soft, then it’s ready. Peel the skin off the sweet potato and mash it up with a fork, spoon or potato masher.
- Make the Dough: Combine the white grape juice and coconut milk in a bowl. If both are cold from the fridge, heat it in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds. If they’re room temperature, heat it for about 15 seconds. Be sure the liquid is lukewarm. Add the yeast and olive oil and stir until everything is well combined.
- In a large bowl, add the two flour and salt. Pour in the liquid and yeast. Then, add the sweet potato mash in and knead with your hands until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
- Leave it in a warm place (inside the oven after turning it on for a brief moment, then letting some heat escape and turning the oven off) and let it rise for a couple of hours.
- Once the dough has risen double its size or more, punch it down. Add a little more flour and knead until it’s no longer sticky again.
- Make the Filling: (Do this when the dough has risen)
- Combine the chia seeds, grape juice, berry powder (I used phytoberry) and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir. Leave it for about 15 minutes for it to thicken a little.
- Making the Bread: Put the dough onto a flat wooden surface and sprinkle some flour underneath to cover the entire surface (important, or the dough will stick) and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a large rectangle/square.
- Spoon the filling on the surface and spread it out so that it reaches all parts of the dough.
- Roll the dough up little by little like a jelly roll, then use a knife to cut it into very thin pieces.
- Prepare the steamer (I used an extra large one) by boiling some water on the bottom. Dampen a cheesecloth with water and spread it out on the top. Place the little pieces of rolls side by side.
- Once the water is heated enough (you begin to hear a sound coming from it), put the steamer with the rolls on the stove. Cover the lid and steam for about 15 minutes. Then, turn the heat off and let it stand for an extra three minutes.
