Quinoa Buns with Sunflower Seeds

This week I decided to switch the usual "loaf" into cute little buns. Well, they turned out kinda big but still really nice. They came out super soft and they are very filling. It would've been a nice loaf too but I felt like doing something different. I used quinoa flakes for a protein boost and a nice nutty taste. And then of course the sunflower seeds are always awesome in bread. Nice and crunchy bite...

You'll need:

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
2 tsp instant yeast
1 scant tsp salt
2 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP honey
1-1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120-140F.
1/2 cups sunflower seeds

Mix the flour, flakes, yeast and salt in a big bowl, make a well in the centre and set aside.
Heat up 1 1/4 cups of water, add the butter and honey and bring to 120F. Keep 1/4 cup plain water on the side in case you need to add more. *That way all the butter and honey will end up in the bread!!
Pour the liquid in the flour mixture and stir gently with a fork, slowly incorporating the water in the flour. When it starts to come together you can get there with your hands and knead a bit in the bowl, then transfer to a floured CLEAN surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until it's all soft, adding flour or water as needed. Add the sunflower sedds about half-way through the process.
When the dough is all nice and smooth put it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place (top of a stove turned on at 400 for a few minutes, for example...). The dough should double in size.

Before:


After:


After it's risen, punch it down gently and transfer to the same work surface, floured, and shape the buns(or the loaf if you choose to do a loaf..).
Cut the dough into small pieces, about the size of baseball, and arrange on an oiled baking sheet.



Cover with cling wrap and let rise again, until doubled again, for about 30 minutes. Now they should be the size of a softball.
When they've doubled in size, score the top with a sharp knife and brush with butter. I added more sunflower seed on top but they didn't really stick after. But still it looks nice...



Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped, or when a thermometer read 170F. Turn off the oven and leave them in there for about 5 minutes. Cool on that same baking sheet, placed on a rack.



Sooooooo soft!!!!!




They are headed to Yeastspotting!!