Category:
Pastry; Savoury

Black Bean Buns

Ingredients:

cane sugar
vinegar
salt
olive oil
garlic
black beans
yeast
hard unbleached wheat flour
paprika

Peel and chop a large onion and add to it a spoonful each of crushed lump cane sugar, vinegar, salt and olive oil. Add two cloves of garlic minced, and mix well. Cover and chill overnight. Pick over, rinse, and soak overnight a cupful of dried black beans. The next morning, set the beans to boil in fresh water and cook them until they can be easily crushed between tongue and palate. Drain the beans, and while they're still hot add them to the onion mixture. Mix well and cover. Let stand for the flavours to marry; two hours at room temperature will do. If you intend to hold the preparation for longer, refrigerate the mixture. Warm a large bowl, and add half a cup of tepid water, a teaspoonful of flour and a spoonful of raw sugar or golden molasses. Pitch a spoonful of active dry yeast to it, mix and leave them to begin reproduction. When the culture is good and foamy, add two cups of hard unbleached wheat flour, into which you have mixed a quarter-teaspoonful of salt. Gather up the mass of paste, adding only just enough lukewarm water to make it cohere. Turn out when you can, onto a flour-dusted board, and knead well. The texture of the dough changes when the proteins have been properly worked, becoming very elastic and smooth. Don't stop kneading until this occurs. Set the dough into a warm, oiled bowl, turn it over, cover with a moistened towel and leave in the proverbial warm place to double in size. Bring the bean mixture back to ambient temperature if you've chilled it, and turn it over a few times. If there is any liquid pooled at the bottom of the bowl crush a few beans into it until all is taken up. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Punch down the dough, and divide it into eight pieces. Roll each one out into a circle, and put some of the bean mixture slightly off-center. Fold the other side over the beans, and starting at one corner, pinch and fold over the open edges in overlaps until you reach the other end. See Brush with oil, slash the tops with a razor or very sharp knife, sprinkle with paprika, and set to proof while you heat a moderate oven. Bake the turnovers until golden brown, serve hot or cold. These make lunch happen anywhere, anytime.

Notes:

These buns will hold together for a long ride in the pocket of a cycling jersey, or just about any pocket, for that matter.

Recipe Index

More Meals:

Polenta Bombe |  Cool Dumplings in Hot Sauce | One Pot Hot | Black Bean Pie |  Straight from the Pot | Homely Ravioli  | Lima Bean Stew  | Cabbage Rolls with Kasha and Lentils | Timbale of Lentils and Rice | Doublable Beans | Panisse Euclid |