Bun Maska

Bun Maska, this used to be our school recess snack or evening snack after coming back from school!!

A small joint very close to our house would sell pav, bun, khari biscuit, butter biscuits, nankhatai cookies, and all bakery products. Ramdas, the owner of that little joint eventually knew us well since we would buy all bakery products from him. They were fresh and delicious :) Bun maska was a treat. We were not allowed to have this everyday. (Indian mom's do not allow outside food and bread based food a lot :) ) But, there were few days when mom would just ask us to buy bun maska as our recess snack. Some days this would be our evening snack after coming back from school. My sister and I would quickly go an bring 2 bun maskas for us. Ramdas would slit the bun into half, lathered with a cube of Amul butter, cut into pieces, and back into a small paper bag.

Although this is my sister's favorite snack, she does not like tiny, sweet, tutti frutti in it. As a child she would pick out every bit of it and give it to me...Super happy me!!! I just love them. After I got married, I discovered how my husband was so similar to my sister. Their eating habits, their talks, things that they like, their choice of food, everything was so similar. And to my surprise when I made these buns I recently discovered that my husband loves the buns but not the tutti frutti in it :) I cannot describe my reaction. I was happy because he picked out all the tutti frutti and handed it to me, but I was really amazed at see how two individuals born and brought up in two different families are so alike. WOW!!

So based on my knowledge of baking and my recipe of pav that I slightly tweaked, I came up with this buttery, sweet buns with little bits of tutti frutti in them.

Ingredients:
1+1/4 cup water (microwaved for 30 seconds to make it warm)
1 sachet (2+1/4 tsp) yeast
1 cup milk powder (you could also use milk instead of water and milk powder)

5 tbsp. butter
6 tbsps. Sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups of all-purpose flour + more to knead the dough
1/2 cup colorful tutti frutti
2 tbsp. milk to brush on top of the bun
1 tbsp. butter to brush after buns are baked

Mix sugar, warm water, and yeast together and leave it aside for 5-7 minutes.
Add milk powder, salt, butter, and flour to make a soft dough.
Remove the dough on a clean surface. Use dry flour and knead the dough well for 8-10 minutes.
Keep in a bowl in a warm place for an hour to proof the dough.
Remove the dough on a clean surface and knead the dough again for 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-4 minutes in a dough mixer.
Mix in the tutti frutti while kneading it.
Divide into 16 parts.
Roll into small balls and arrange into a greased tray 2-3 inch apart. You do not want the buns to touch each other after proofing.
Cover and let the balls rest for and hour. You can let it proof for slightly more time than an hour.
Lightly brush some milk over the buns.
Preheat the oven to 450F and bake the buns for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown.
Remove the buns and lightly brush with some butter for shine.
Cool them on a rack and serve with delicious butter.
Bun Maska with hot chai tea is just perfect!!