a newfound appreciation of blueberries + blueberry scrolls

Home Baked: a Year of Seasonal Baking - Summer

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When I was growing up, fresh blueberries weren’t a thing. They just didn’t exist in Australia. There is some confusion about when the first blueberries were cultivated here. There are some thoughts that it was in Tasmania in the early 20th century, bushes presumably bought from the United States. There were some bushes grown in the 1960s but they were discarded because of disease. It really wasn’t until the efforts of Ridley Bell, who cultivated some trial seeds at a research facility in Victoria, and Margaret and John Tucker, who travelled to America researching blueberries, that growing blueberries in Australia was considered a possibility. In 1976, Ridley Bell walked into the produce markets in Footscray in Melbourne with 12 trays of fresh blueberries in 450 g punnets, with not one trader knowing what they were. Gradually, fresh blueberries grew more commonplace, and today, they are grown around the country, guaranteeing an almost year-round supply. There is still considerable research taking place in Australia that goes into producing bigger and tastier blueberries, and in late 2022, at the annual convening of the International Taste Institute, an Australian blueberry named Eureka received a three-star Superior Taste Award. This was an incredible accolade for a country with such a recent blueberry history.

Blueberry pioneer Ridley Bell is still involved in the industry, and he says that an ideal blueberry should have:

…a good size, a deep blue skin covered by a wax bloom, pleasing aroma, the right mix of sweetness and tang, and importantly, crunch. Crunch is front and centre of the whole eating experience. When you bite down it should pop - and you go “Wow, that’s good.” Ridley Bell via The Guardian

They are a popular fruit to grow in Tasmania, where summer provides the ideal growing conditions. I buy mine from a man who, each year, sets up a cart with a small fridge on the side of the road just heading south out of Huonville. His half-kilo punnets are filled with fat, juicy blueberries with their signature bloom and the ‘crunch’ that Ridley Bell says is paramount to a good blueberry. And most importantly, they actually taste of something.

Blueberries have never been a favourite of mine. I’ve never quite understood the appeal of the ubiquitous blueberry muffin, where the berries do nothing more than stain the batter and contribute little in the way of flavour. But I will admit that my feelings towards blueberries have softened a little. While they are still at the bottom of my berry list, I don’t think of them with quite the same degree of ambivalence. Perhaps because the newer varieties offer much more in the way of flavour and texture, or perhaps because I have access to just-picked berries that have travelled just a few kilometres before I purchase them. Whatever the reason, they are a much more regular ingredient in my baking than they have been previously.

These blueberry scrolls combine the fluffy softness of Shokupan, Japanese milk bread, with a jammy, concentrated blueberry swirl and a bit more texture from the addition of a few fresh berries. They would be good for breakfast, although I prefer them for morning tea, an adult version of the finger bun, a childhood favourite. Late last year, I attended a class with Emiko Davies, and we made buns of milk bread filled with traditional red bean paste. They were soft and sweet, in the way freshly baked white bread is and had me thinking about adapting the recipe. This recipe is based on Emiko’s and includes the initial step of making a flour paste - yudane. Ideally, the yudane should be made the night before, but I’m not always that prepared and have made these with a much shorter preparation time. This bread requires quite some kneading, so while it’s very possible to make by hand, a stand mixer with a dough hook is very useful.

Blueberry Scrolls

Makes 8 scrolls

For the yudane:

• 50 g bread flour

• 50 g boiled water

For the bread:

• 160 ml lukewarm milk

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1¼ teaspoons instant yeast

• 150 g bread flour

• 180 g plain flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 50 g softened butter

• 150 g blueberry jam (store bought, or recipe below for paid subscribers)

• 125 g fresh blueberries

• 1 egg

• pearl sugar, to decorate

To make the yudane, put the flour into a small bowl. Pour over the just boiled water and mix well. Cover and, ideally, refrigerate overnight. However, if you are impatient, let it sit for at least an hour but longer if possible.

To make the bread, mix together the milk, sugar and yeast. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Put the flours and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour in the milk mixture and mix on a low speed until the dough looks shaggy. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Add the yudane and butter to the bowl and continue to knead for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough has come away from the sides of the bowl and it looks and feels soft and smooth. If you are making this by hand, it will require kneading for at least 25-30 minutes. Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in the bowl, cover and leave for 1-2 hours for the dough to double in size. The timing will depend on the warmth of your kitchen.

When risen, remove the dough from the bowl and lightly flour your kitchen bench. Gently roll out the dough into a 32 x 25 cm rectangle. Spread the blueberry jam over the top, leaving a 2 cm edge at the long top. Scatter over the fresh berries. Along the long edge, roll the dough into a sausage. Cut into 8 even (4 cm wide) pieces and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover and leave for 30 minutes - 1 hour or until the scrolls look puffy and risen.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Make an egg wash by gently beating the egg in a small bowl. Brush over the top of the scrolls and sprinkle with a little pearl sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cool a little before eating. These are best on the day they are made but will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container.

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Next time: welcome to autumn + autumn grape cake

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For paid subscribers, a printer-friendly recipe card for the blueberry buns is below, along with a recipe for blueberry jam and tips for successful jam making.