I love Polish food! It’s so comforting and versatile. It also utilizes many seasonal fruits and veggies and there are many dishes you only eat for a short period of time - when an ingredient is in season :)

Wild blueberries are smaller than the ones we are used to and they have a more intense, sweet and tangy taste than cultivated blueberries. They are common in Poland but really hard to find in the US. I found some at Whole Foods the other day and had to try making blueberry buns! I remember eating them as a little kid and was craving them really bad!

Ingredients

For the buns

• 500 g (4 cups) pastry flour
• 250 ml (1 cup) warm milk
• 50 g (3 tbsp) fine sugar
• 7 g  (2 tsp) yeast
• 75 g (1/4 cup) melted butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling

• 350 g (2 and ⅓ cups) wild blueberries (can replace with regular blueberries)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp corn or potato starch

For the egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of milk

+  powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions

1. Combine the warm milk with 1 tbsp of sugar, the yeast, and 4 tbsp of flour. Cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the remaining flour, sugar, and salt. Then add the yeast mixture, egg, butter, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. Knead the dough until smooth. Don’t over-knead.
4. Cover and let rise for 1-1.5 hours.
5. Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a surface and roll out. Cot into 16 equal pieces.
6. Make the filling by mixing the blueberries in a bowl with the sugar and starch.
7. Roll out each piece of dough into a flat circle. place 1-2 tbsp of the filling on the dough and carefully close it. Make sure the edges are well folded. Don’t overfill because the buns won’t close if overfilled.
8. Place the buns on a parchment lined baking tray, leaving enough space for them to rise more.
9. Cover the buns and let rise for 30 more minutes before baking.
10. Heat oven to 350 F (180 C) and prepare the egg wash by beating the egg and milk together.
11. Once risen, brush each bun with the egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm and let cool on the rack.