Vegan Banana - Date Buns

My dad is the biggest anti-vegan I've ever met. He truly believes that there is nothing better than meat for dinner and he will never ever eat any vegan dessert. Sometimes I trick him by not telling him what a certain (vegan and non-vegan) dish contains - this is the only way he even tries it. Last week however, he came to me and said he had found a great looking recipe and if I want to give it a try. Can you believe it? Of course I made a vegan dessert for him, and he loved it. He even requested another batch the following day. Win-win.

You need:

100 ml lukewarm water

150 grams whole-wheat flour

50 grams all-purpose flour

3 table spoons light muscovado sugar

pinch of salt

1 table spoon dry active yeast

3 table spoons olive oil

For the filling:

8 dates

1 banana

Put the yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside, in a warm place (I love using the microwave or the oven), cover and leave it there for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together all of the other ingredients and make a hole (for the yeast) in the middle. 

Combine with the yeast and mix well, first with a wooden spoon and then knead until you get a nice, stretchy dough. Cover and let sit for one hour in a warm place.

After one hour, knead the dough one last time and roll it out, about 2 centimetres thick. Use a glass to cut out individual circles and put them on parchment paper. 

Put the dates in a small bowl and pour some hot water over them, leave them in it for five minutes, then cut them into small pieces. Cut the banana into thin pieces. 

Put two slices of banana, with a few dates on top on the buns. Cover with another circle of dough, press the edges firmly with your fingers so the two parts will not separate while baking. 

Put the buns into a preheated oven (to 50°C) and let them rise for ten minutes. After that, turn the heat up to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Let them cool down completely, then sprinkle the buns generously with powder sugar and enjoy.