Cooking for a small crowd or indulging yourself in a cozy kitchen project? Enter: small-batch tuna buns, a treat that perfectly balances fluffy bread with savory tuna filling. This recipe yields just six pieces, making it perfect for intimate gatherings, meal preps, or simply satisfying your own cravings. Let’s dive into the delicious details!

Savory homemade buns filled with tuna and made from the comfort of your own home. This Tuna Buns are great for breakfast or snack, you got the bread and the filling all in one so no need to worry about the spread. This is a soft and fluffy delicious homemade buns, give it a try.

Why Small Batch?

Sometimes less is more, right? Small-batch baking cuts down on waste, offers quicker prep times, and lets you savor fresh, homemade buns without leftovers staring at you for days. Plus, it’s ideal for experimenting with flavors like our simple yet satisfying tuna filling. With small batch, it gives you oportunity to try differect variations sooner than later.

The Appeal of Homemade Tuna Buns

Sure, store-bought buns or tuna sandwhich are convenient, but there’s something magical about homemade ones. They’re softer, fresher, and let’s be real—your kitchen smells like pure heaven. With homemade bubs, you can also customize the filling to your liking and add extra ingredients. Grated cheese and sliced jalapeno peppers for instance are grat addtion to the tuna filling.

Tips for a Successful Soft Homemade Bread

• Liquid Temperature – Yeast grows in temperature between 105 – 110F, so its important to have the water that you are using to “proof” it in this range. If you go lower or higher, the yeast might not proof properly. That means the bread will not rise as much, resulting to a flat and tough bread. 
• Check Yeast Expiry a Date – you might be wondering how come the bread did not rise when you followed exactly the recipe. Well, first thing first, make sure the yeast is not yet expired. Expired yeast is the common reason for flat and dense bread. If your bread did not expand or rise during the rest period, it is most likely that the yeast is not fresh or the water temperature is too hot or cold.
• Amount of Yeast – Just because you want a tall bread doesn’t mean you have to put as much yeast in the mixture. Sometimes adding too much yeast can cause the bread to collapse during the rest period. Just imagine putting more air than what is needed in a balloon, the balloon will explode. The same case with bread. 
• Right Type of Yeast – We’ve discussed the 3 types of yeast above. Make sure to use the right one for your recipe, and make necessary adjustments if you want to swap one from another. 
• Rest Period – Yeast bread needs time to rise. There are bread that uses less yeast but requires more rest time, the likes of No Knead Bread or Artisan Bread which usually require 8- 16 hours rest period to get the volume and to develop the flavor. There are 1 hour bread like my Rosemary Dinner Rolls which used this same bread dough. The point is, give it time to rest, don’t touch it just leave it in a warm place. The first rest period will normally tell you if your dough is good or not. If it rise and almost double in size, then your on the right track.  
• Expiration and Quality of the Flour – The quality of the flour greatly affect the texture of the bread. All-purpose flour could differ from country to country although they are all called as all-purpose flour. Sometimes it depends on the brand too. The closer the flour to expiration date or if it is already expired, the flour could tend to be drier, which means it would require more liquid than mentioned in the recipe. This is a common issue of way sometimes the dough tend to be tough and dry. This is why sometimes you have to add few more tablespoon from the suggested flour measurement to get the right texture. The dough should be soft, smooth and elastic. If it is too wet, add a bit more flour until it is no longer to sticky to handle. If it is too dry, a small amount of liquid helps provide moisture to the dough. A clean side of the bowl, with the dough slightly sticking at the bottom, a soft, smooth and elastic dough is what You are aiming for.

A Peak to the Tuna Filling

This tuna filling isn’t just any filling. Using canned tuna as the star, we elevate it with a blend of herbs and spices to create a filling that’s flavorful, creamy, and oh-so-satisfying. Think of it as tuna salad with a gourmet twist! Add more chili peppers for extra kick and you are set to go! This is a great option to use your canned tuna. You can use th tuna filling for sandwhiches or toast so making more is never going to be a proble. Simply double the recipe. The tuna filling is very flexible, you do not have to worry able messing it up by tweaking it.

The Simplicty of Tuna Filling

No complicated steps here! Simply mix the canned tuna with mayonnaise and your chosen herbs and spices. The result? A creamy, herby mixture that pairs beautifully with the pillowy dough. Customize it to your liking. Add some grated cheddar cheese, jalapeno peppers or corn to make it extra special.

How do I Know if I Made the Bread Dough Correctly?

• Activating the Yeast –  This is the first thing that you should get right, otherwise do NOT proceed. After 5 – 10 minutes you should see a foam forms on top of the water, this is an indication that the yeast is alive. If you do not get this, either the yeast is old or the liquid temperature is too hot or cold. The temperature should be 100F, lukewarm but not hot.
• Clean Bowl After Kneading – The sides of the bowl should be clean, while the bottom is slightly sticking to the dough. This means that amount of liquid to the flour is correct. Enough to make a clean bowl and still make a slightly wet dough.
• Soft Dough – Soft dough means the amount of flour to liquid is enough. Too much flour could make the bread dense and heavy, and too much liquid could make it too wet. Both will affect how the bread rise in the rest period. Try to push your fingers in the dough, it should leave a “dimple” on the dough and should gradually disappear.
• Smooth Dough Surface – Again, this is a sign of correct flour to liquid ratio. A “bumpy” surface could mean that the dough is dry and tough.
• Elastic Dough – A soft dough is usually elastic. If your dough is dry and tough, it wouldn’t be as elastic when you pull it apart.
• First Rest Period – The dough should almost double in size. This is a sign that the activation of the yeast work which is crucial to making a soft and fluffy bread. This also means the yeast is alive (not yet expired) and the liquid temperature is correct. I always use baking thermometer to check the temperature of the liquid.
• Second Rest Period – The bread dough should be really puff up. This is crucial and the final state of the bread before baking. If you are able to make it puff-up, that is a good sign that there are air trapped inside which will make the bread fluffy.

Let’s Talk About the Dough

Making bread dough might seem intimidating, but trust me, it’s easier than you think. This recipe uses a basic yeast dough that’s forgiving and flexible, yielding light and fluffy buns. This is a yeast bread which will require rest time. That would be the most of the wait that you have to do which gives you time to do other things.

How to Assemble the Buns

Divide the dough into six portions, roll them out, and add a generous but not too much scoop of filling in the center. Seal them like little treasures, and let them rest for a final proof before baking. You can make a bigger buns by dividing it into 4 pieces or smaller buns by dividing it into 8 pieces. My personal preference is 6 which is just right for 1 serving portion.

Why is My Dough too Wet or too Dry?

Don’t get frustrated if your dough did not turn out immediately as what you see in the photo or video. Most likely It is not because you did not follow the recipe. When it comes to bread making, the amount of flour and liquid is not always 100% precise. This is why often times you will encounter recipes that says, if your dough is dry, add a bit more liquid. If your dough is too wet, add a little bit more flour. This instructions are not meant to confuse you, they are meant to guide you on how to adjust as you work through your dough. The reason for this is that  although the measurement of water and flour are specified in the recipe, it still could slightly vary depending on many factors.

For instance, all-purpose flour could very from country to country, or even from brand to brand. Don’t be surprise if you find that some brand tends to require a bit more liquid as the others. On top of this, the amount of liquid is also affected by the state of your flour. How old is the flour that you are using? Older flour nearing expiry tends to be drier and this requires more liquid. Humidity also affects baking. The more humid it is, the more likely the dough will be sticky and wet. Bread making requires patience, and practice. Once you learn how to feel the right texture of the dough, everything will be quick and easy. You can instantly tell if you need to add more water or flour to get the dough in right state.

Enjoying Your Homemade Tuna Buns

Fresh out of the oven, these buns are a dream. The warm dough, the savory filling—it’s love at first bite. Serve them as snacks, light lunches, or even as part of a party spread.

Making it Your Own

The beauty of this recipe is its versatility. Experiment with other fillings like chicken, veggies, or even cheese. This is your canvas, and the possibilities are endless! I persoanlly like the combinatio of grated cheddar cheese and chopped jalapeno peppers and the chicken filling. For the chicken filling simply replace with cooked shredded chicken.

Storing Leftover

You can leave this on counter top 1-2 days. Longer than that I highly recommend storing it in the container and keep it refrigerated. This is important because this buns have tuna filling which could go bad if ledt longer on counter top. Better safe than sorry.

Dough Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup + 4 tablespoon warm Full Fat Milk (110F) – microwave 15 seconds
• 2 tablespoon granulated Sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast or 1/2 teaspoon Instant Yeast
• 1 1/3 cups Bread Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoon softened unsalted Butter

Tuna Filling

• 1 can (133g) Flaked Tuna
• 3 tablespoon Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 Celery Stick or Green Onion – chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon table Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/3 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Instructions:

• Make the Tuna Filling: Drain the tuna then transfer in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, dijon mustard, green onion, salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, paprika and garlic powder. Mix until combined. Taste and adjust as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

• Activate the Yeast: Pour the milk is the mixing bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar and stir. Add active dry yeast, stir and leave for 10 minutes to bloom.

• If using instant yeast, mix the yeast with the dry ingredients. No need to activate it.
• Add Dry Ingredients: Add the flour, salt and remaining sugar. Knead for 15 minutes.
• Add the Softened Butter and knead for another 15 minutes. When you add the butter, you will notice the dough will separate and it will look like it is too wet. Continue mixing (even if longer than 8 minutes) until the dough comes together completely, the side of the bowl is clean and the dough slightly sticking at the bottom of the pan. Do not stop mixing until you get to this stage. It takes time to fully incorporate the butter to the flour mixture, be patient.

• Let Rest 1st Time: Shape the dough nto a ball size. Transfer in a greased bowl and cover. Let rest in a warm place for 60 minutes.
  • Trick: Pre-heat the oven to 110F then turn it OFF. Put the covered dough inside for 60 minutes.
• Shape: Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and shape each piece into a ball size. Roll to flatten and stuff with tuna mixture.

• Let Rest 2nd Time: Cover and place in a warm place to rise for 60 minutes. It will be puffy when ready, if needed extend until the bread is fully puff-up.
• Oven: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F in the last 10 minutes of 2nd rest time. If you are using the oven to rest the dough, do NOT forget to take the dough out before pre-heating.
• Eggwash: Brush the bread with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 teaspoon water) or milk
• Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, until deeply golden brown. Turn the tray half way though for even baking.
• Let Cool completely to allow the bread texture to get better

Makes 6 pieces

Enjoy! If you make this, share and tag me in Instagram #SweetNSpicyLiving. I would like to see your creations too.

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