Just in time for Wimbledon and a perfect themed snack to take courtside or enjoy wherever you may be watching.

These buns are beautifully soft and coloured with spinach and turmeric to create the perfect tennis ball ‘green’ whilst being deliciously herby and fresh. I stuffed mine with a fresh combination of poached chicken, herbed mayonnaise, cucumber, greens and nashi pear. 

Speaking of tennis ball green – who knew that the colour of tennis balls is a matter of debate? I always thought tennis balls were green but apparently a large number of us see them as yellow. Take a survey, my small cohort was 50:50 green to yellow. Apparently, the tennis ball is actually ‘optic yellow’ – and the fluorescent nature of the true colour gives them a greenish hue- fun fact. 

Equipment

2 baking trays
Stand mixer with dough hook
Blender or Food processor
Kenton salt and pepper mills (in green or yellow for a perfect ‘match’)
Piping bag

Ingredients

Spinach and Turmeric Dough:

Spinach puree
-    200g frozen spinach
-    50ml water

Milk roux
-    50 grams Tipo ‘00’ flour
-    125ml water
-    125ml milk

Dough
-    500g Tipo ‘00’ flour
-    8g instant dry yeast
-    ½ teaspoon sea salt 
-    ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
-    1 teaspoon sugar
-    ¼ teaspoon turmeric (to colour)
-    30g unsalted butter
-    30g olive oil
-    200g spinach puree (see below)
-    Milk roux (see below)
-    1 egg (at room temperature)

Decorative paste (for tennis ball design)
-    60g plain flour
-    60g cold water

Milk to baste the buns
Butter to grease the baking trays

Method

This dough uses a milk roux to create a softer and moister bread. Make this and the spinach puree first to allow them to cool before adding to the final dough. 

Make the spinach puree:
1.    Heat the frozen spinach in a medium saucepan with the lid on over low- medium heat until it has thawed and reached boiling point. 
2.    Remove from heat and blitz in a blender or food processor with 50 ml of cold water until it is smooth. Cool to room temperature.

For the milk roux:
1.    Combine milk and water in a small saucepan.
2.    Whisk in the flour.
3.    Heat over a low to medium setting whisking all the time until the mixture becomes thick and has just about reached boiling point.
4.    Empty into a bowl.
5.    Cover and allow to cool to room temperature.

For the spinach and turmeric dough:
1.    Combine the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and nutmeg and turmeric in a large mixing bowl. 
2.    Melt the butter and cool to a warm temperature.
3.    Make a well in the flour mixture and add the butter, oil, 200g of spinach puree, all of the milk roux and egg. 
4.    Mix by hand to combine and then knead at low speed, using the dough hook of a stand mixer. Mix until smooth, elastic and coming away from the sides of the bowl. This can take up to 10-15 minutes, and it helps to occasionally ramp up the speed to help bring the dough together. It is quite a wet dough. 
5.    Add extra turmeric if you would like a more lime green colour.
6.    Cover the dough in cling film or a silicon cover and allow to prove in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour)
7.    Divide the dough into 90g pieces and roll into balls.
8.    Space the dough balls onto two greased oven trays. 
9.    Cover and allow to prove in a warm place for around 30 mins or until visibly risen. 
10.    Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (fan forced)

Prepare the decorative paste:
11.    Mix water into the flour until smooth and free from lumps
12.    Empty into a piping bag fitted with a small round 2mm nozzle, or if using a disposable bag, snip the end off to create a small hole.

13.    Brush the now risen buns with milk and pipe on tennis ball patterns.

14.    Bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and only just starting to brown. Take care not to colour them too much to preserve the vibrant green colour. 

Serve with butter and your favourite topping or filling.  

Serving suggestion

Try this combo
-    Chicken breast poached with lemon zest, bay leaf, peppercorns and parsley sprigs
-    Fresh herb mayonnaise (combine one cup of mayo with finely chopped, parsley, basil and dill, a grind of pepper and salt)
-    Cucumber strips, sliced nashi pear, seasonal lettuce and extra herbs.
-    Plus, a good grind of salt and pepper

To note

-    Fresh spinach leaves can also be used. Just blanch in hot water and puree with a little extra water until smooth. 
-    Buns are of course delicious on their own slathered in butter and tossed among friends!