How to Make Super Soft Bacon Buns

This one’s for all my bacon lovers! The dough contains rendered bacon fat, crispy bacon pieces, and we’re making BLT (bacon lettuce tomato) sandwiches in the end.

But bacon is not the only contributor to the success of these beautiful buns. Honey is added for a bit of sweetness to balance out the salty bacon. A little bit of whole wheat flour for texture and flavour. An egg to make them extra airy. And a long cold fermentation to boost all the flavours.

You can modify this recipe by using some different sweetener instead of honey or skip it altogether. Seeds can be added to the dough and the buns can be topped with seeds after being brushed with egg. The whole wheat flour can be swapped with wholegrain (dark) rye without having to adjust anything else.

If you’re not into buns, then turn this recipe into a small loaf or double the ingredients and make a huge loaf.

I’ve reduced the amount of salt in the dough to account for the salt in the bacon.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the bacon –

160g (5.6oz) smoked bacon lardons

For the dough –

150g (5.3oz) water

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.13oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast

4g (0.14oz) salt

1 medium sized egg (50g; 1.75oz)

15g (0.53oz) honey

30g (1.05oz) whole wheat flour

270g (9.5oz) white bread flour

To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

Method

1. Put the bacon in a medium sized pan and place on medium-high heat. Cook for around 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If it starts sticking a lot, then give it a little splash of water and continue cooking. Once the bacon looks crispy take it off the heat and drain the fat off using a sieve. Leave both the fat and the bacon pieces to cool down completely. Once the bacon has cooled down chop it into smaller pieces.
2. Make the dough. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, honey, whole wheat flour, egg, bacon fat, and bacon pieces. Mix well to dissolve the salt and yeast. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough.
3. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
4. Fold #1
5. Chill for 15 minutes.
6. Fold #2
7. Cold ferment for 18 – 24 hours.
8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Pre-shape, cover, and rest for 30 minutes.
9. Shape and place on a non-stick paper lined baking tray. Cover.
10. Final proof 1 – 1.5 hours. *During the final hour of fermentation pre-heat the oven to 170C (340F) fan on or 190C (375F) fan off.
11. Glaze the buns with egg, leave to dry for 5 minutes and glaze again.
12. Bake for 25 minutes.

Leave to cool down and make yourself a BLT!

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.