Spinach enriched Custard buns - Soft, fluffy and really delicious!
A big hit with the kids and of cause adults too!

Dough:
3 tsp Instant yeast
½- ¾ C Raw sugar
1 ¾ cups Wholemeal flour
1 ¾ cups Unbleached white flour
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 C Soy Milk
4 packed cups of Spinach
A drop of Pandan Extract (optional – for a nice fragrant)
¾ C Mashed Avocado or Apple Sauce or 2 tbsp Oil (optional for even more luxurious and lighter buns – in our video we didn’t have any, so left it out and was still delicious)

Custard:
1/3 cup Custard Powder
½-1 cup Coconut Cream (270ml can – adjust according to taste)
3-4 Tbsp Honey (according to taste)
2-2.5 Cups Soy Milk, divided

Vegan Egg wash:
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup (or sugar)
2 Tbsp Soy Milk

Dough Method:
1. In a blender, place spinach and milk (and avocado/apple sauce if using) and blend until smooth.
2. Place yeast, sugar, flour, salt and the spinach mixture into a bread machine (in this order). Set on dough setting.
3. Once done, take out and let it rest and rise for another 30mins in a covered bowl.
4. After it has incorporated all the flour together, touch the dough and see if it has the right consistency. It should be slightly sticky, if too wet add more flour, if too dry add more water. Once you’re happy with it, leave it to do it’s thing.

Custard Method:
1. Place all ingredients and 1 cup of soy milk into a small saucepan, mix well before turning on heat.
2. Cook on med-low heat stirring constantly until starts to thicken.
3. Add in the rest of the soy milk a bit at a time, stirring constantly. You may need more or less soy milk depending on desired preference.
4. Taste and adjust if necessary.
5. Once done, pour into a bowl and keep in the fridge to cool down until ready for use.

Forming the Buns:
1. Preheat oven at 180 C.
2. Once the dough has rested and risen again (doubled in size), divide the dough into 8 pieces.
3. Cover while working with them.
4. The dough would be fairly soft, so you’ll need extra flour to work with it.
5. Flatten the dough with your hands, place a generous scoop of custard into the centre of the dough and then working around it, twist over and pinch the edges until all the custard is covered. Gently flatten and round out the bun with your hands, place onto baking tray lined with parchment paper.
6. Repeat until all buns are done.
7. Place buns into the oven, cook for 8mins, then swap trays around for even cooking, cook for another 7mins (total time 14-15mins).
8. When done, take out and let cool for 5mins before serving.