Lemon Buns With Goat Cheese, Walnuts & Dates

I came up with this recipe not too long ago. The kids in my house have a tendency to request cinnamon buns quite often. So one day I figured I would try to create a more sophisticated version of a rolled bun – here they are. I serve them for brunch or grab one with my afternoon tea. Now that the weather is warming up, I will be taking these for a picnic too. They also freeze well. I made a healtier version of the cinnamon buns as well. I will post that tomorrow.

The dough

• 7 oz / 200 ml milk
• 1 tbsp instant yeast / 50 gr bakers yeast
• 3.5 oz / 100 gr butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp zest from organic lemon
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pound and 1 oz / 500 gr flour

The filling

• ½ cup / 120 ml goat cheese, crumbled
• 8 medjool dates, cut into small pieces
• ½ cup / 120 ml walnuts, chopped

The procedure

1. Pour milk and yeast into a big bowl and stir.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and knead until the dough is smooth and pliable.
3. Cover the dough and let rest for about 1 hr or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
5. Put a little flour on the counter top to avoid sticking and roll out the dough to a rectangle app 18″x12″ or 45 x 30 cm.
6. Spread the filling evenly onto the dough.
7. Roll into a log and cut into pieces app 3/4″ or 2 cm wide.
8. Put in greased muffin pan. Bake for 12-14 min.

Yields 24