These Wild Blueberry & Lemon Overnight Buns were along time coming. For over a year now, a rough outline of the recipe has been scribbled down on a piece of crumpled up paper, and stashed in my recipe notebook, on my kitchen counter. The remaining details of the recipe have been stashed in my brain and for months I’ve been meaning to find time to sit down and write it out to share on the blog. There have been many requests for this recipe, but it’s not until now that the stars have aligned for me to carve out some time to formally put pen to paper.

So, here they are: Big (very big), fluffy, sweet, tangy, and fruity buns. I created them as overnight buns out of necessity, right after my daughter was born. There was no time for sleeping, let alone baking, so this was a way to squeeze out some more time in order to have a special breakfast treat. The dough and filling were made the evening before going to bed, rested in the refrigerator overnight, and in the morning were baked off for fresh buns. They were glorious after a night of no sleep. My recommendation: Enjoy them while they’re still warm and the glaze has just set. The sticky lemon glaze will have seeped into the fluffy buns and the wild blueberry filling will still be fresh, warm, and gooey.

Helpful Tips for This Recipe

*This dough is based off my Baby Pecan & Cara Cara Orange Caramel Sticky Buns ; which are not overnight buns. Which means these Wild Blueberry & Lemon buns don’t have to be made overnight either. Feel free to make and bake them all in one day. Overnighting is simply a time-convenient way to allow the dough to rest to be baked in the morning.

*In the recipe, both options of frozen wild blueberries and fresh blueberries are listed. Both taste fantastic, but I’m partial to wild blueberries for their intense tangy-sweetness and fragrant aroma. During non-blueberry season, this variety can be found in the frozen section of most supermarkets.

*Glaze the buns while they are still hot from the oven. This way the first portion of glaze will seep deep into the baked buns; helping to add even more moisture and flavor throughout the entire dough.

Wild Blueberry & Lemon Overnight Buns

Makes 8 large buns

Dough

2/3 cup (170ml)  whole milk
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, 1 packet
4 1/4 cup (596g)  all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (57g)  cornstarch
1/3 cup (70g)  sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons  kosher salt
1 tablespoon  freshly grated lemon zest, about 1 lemon
3 (159g)  large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (140g)  unsalted butter, room temperature soft

In a small heatproof bowl, heat the milk in the microwave until warm to the touch (around 110F/43C), about 30-45 seconds. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk, gently stir to combine, and let rest for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. With the mixer on low speed, add the warm milk mixture and eggs. Mix until dough is formed, about 1-2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and add soft butter, in 1 tablespoon sized pieces at a time, and mix until thoroughly combined. Once all the butter has been added, continue to mix dough for 8-10 minutes. Final dough should feel tacky to the touch, not sticky. If dough feels too firm, add 1-2 tablespoons of warm milk to soften and mix until combined. Transfer dough to a large bowl and cover the bowl surface with plastic wrap. Set in a warm spot to rise for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size. 

Meanwhile, line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Prepare wild blueberry filling.

Once dough has doubled in size, transfer it onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a 14 x 24-inch rectangle. Spread the wild blueberry filling evenly all over the surface of the dough. Starting with the dough edge nearest to you, begin rolling up the dough into a thick log. Pinch the seam lightly to seal in the filling. Cut the dough log into eight even pieces (Tip: Cut the log in half first, then cut each half into half, and so on). Transfer pieces, cut side up, into the prepared baking pan (two rows of four evenly spaced). Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest overnight, 8-12 hours.

The next morning, remove baking pan from the refrigerator and set on counter to rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking pan and bake buns for 35-40 minutes or until golden and skewer inserted in center of buns comes out clean. Remove from oven and set on cooling rack. Meanwhile, prepare lemon glaze.

Pour about half of the lemon glaze evenly over the wild blueberry buns while the buns are still hot, using a spoon to help coat each bun. Once buns have cooled slightly and glaze has set, pour on the remaining glaze. Buns are best served while still slightly warm and enjoyed on the day they’re made.

Wild Blueberry Filling

4 cups (539g) frozen wild blueberries or 3 1/2 cups (539g) fresh blueberries
1/3 cup (70g) sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
2 tablespoons (30ml) cold water

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine wild blueberries, sugar, vanilla bean seeds with scraped pod, and lemon juice. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cook berries for 2-3 minutes until soft (if using fresh blueberries, lightly smash them as they cook to help them break down into smaller pieces). Stir together the cornstarch and cold water, then add mixture to the berries. Stirring constantly, cook for 1 minute more until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and pour filling into a shallow container to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cups (180g) powdered sugar
1/4 cup (58g) fresh lemon juice
Pinch of kosher salt

In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.