Dunn Buns

These egg bread rolls are from a childhood family friend. We loved to eat the rolls hot out of the oven at their house. I was always completely envious that they got these in their lunch box instead of normal sandwiches. The recipe makes A LOT of rolls, but they never last more than a day or two in my house. 

Dunn Buns

1 cup lukewarm water, about 105˚F

3 heaping Tablespoons yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup powdered milk

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

2 cups boiling water

12-14 cups flour

6 eggs

Mix yeast with sugar and water, let sit to proof for a few minutes.

Mix butter with powdered milk, sugar and salt.  Add 2 cups boiling water, mix well. Add 4 cups flour and 6 eggs, mix well. Add yeast mixture and mix. Then add next 8 cups of flour, mixing well. Add additional 2 cups as needed to get dough to right texture, not too sticky. Knead for about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise for 45 min – 1 hour in warm place until doubled in size. Grease pans and shape rolls. Let rise again. Bake rolls at 350˚F for 10-12 minutes.

Note for those who don't have powdered milk on hand and want to use regular milk: You can replace the 2 cups boiling water and 2/3 cup powdered milk in the above recipe with 2 cups of scalded milk. (How to scald milk here)

Creme Brulee French Toast

Perfect for holidays. Make ahead the night before to just pop in the oven in the morning.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
sliced bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

in a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. pour into a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Arrange bread pieces on top. Beat together eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt. Pour egg mixture over top of bread. Cover and chill overnight in the fridge. The next morning, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns

From Ree, the Pioneer Woman. Click here for recipe with detailed picture instructions.

These were really delicious.

Hot Cross Buns

• 2 cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Canola Oil
• ½ cups Sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups (additional) Flour
• ½ teaspoons (heaping) Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons (scant) Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• ¼ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• Spices: Cardamom, Nutmeg, Allspice (optional)
• ½ cups Raisins
• GLAZE
• 1 whole Egg White
• Splash Of Milk
• Icing
• 1 whole Egg White
• Powdered Sugar
• Splash Of Milk

Preparation Instructions

BUNS
Combine 2 cups milk, canola oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot–about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.
Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.
Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.
Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is “plain” again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won’t use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)
Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes…an hour-plus is better.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees
GLAZE
Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.
Bake for 20 minutes, give or take, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown.
Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
ICING
Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.
Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they’re completely cooled first.

One dough, four recipes

This article in Family Fun magazine in November 2010 had a light whole wheat bread dough recipe and instructions on how to make bread, breadsticks, a bread wreath and pear fritters from the dough. It is written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, the authors of "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day" which is a bread method that I like overall. On Christmas day I made the pear fritters, sandwich bread and wreath bread out of a batch of dough. We really enjoyed the pear fritters! The bread was a good sandwich bread, and the wreath bread was a fun way to have rolls for dinner.

My experiences with the artisan bread method make me prefer baking up the dough within a day of making it. Yes, the dough holds up for a week or two in the fridge (depending on which type of dough), but the bread is flatter the longer the dough is in the fridge. I don't mind it too much, but I really appreciated this layout of providing four options to make with the four pounds of dough the recipe makes so that I can use it in varied ways over a day or so and not have to worry about fridge storage so much. Reading the article renewed my interest in baking bread again - I haven't in months.

Basic Dough:

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Makes: 4 pounds of dough

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1-1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) granulated yeast
• 1-1/2 tablespoons coarse salt or 1 tablespoon table salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil; melted, unsalted butter; or olive oil (see the tip below)
• 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or lidded container, stir together the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and oil or melted butter, then mix in the flours. If needed, the last bit of flour can be incorporated with wet hands.
   
2. Loosely cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it collapses on top, about 2 hours.
   
3. Use the dough immediately or refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next five days. It can also be frozen in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to one month (we recommend freezing the dough in 1-pound portions for ease of use). Frozen dough can be shaped, rested, and baked after it has defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. To cut a recipe's worth of dough from the bulk batch, dust the surface of the dough with flour, then use kitchen shears or a knife to snip off what you need.
   

Tips:

Vegetable oil has the most neutral flavor; butter adds flavor suitable for sweet and savory breads; and olive oil adds flavor suitable for savory breads.

 Sandwich Loaf:

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (cantaloupe-size piece) prepared dough

• Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

Instructions

1. Lightly grease an 8-1/2- by 4-1/2-inch nonstick loaf pan. To help the dough hold its shape while it rises, cloak it: dust it with flour, then quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface and tucking it under the bottom, then rotating it a quarter-turn as you work.
   
2. Stretch the ball into a loaf shape as shown and place it in the pan (it should be about three-quarters full). Let the dough rest for 90 minutes covered loosely with plastic wrap, 60 minutes if you're using fresh, unrefrigerated dough.
   
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash, then use a sharp, serrated bread knife to make three cuts across the top. Place the loaf on the oven's center rack and bake it until it's brown and firm, about 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.
   

Wreath Bread:

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 pound (grapefruit-size piece) prepared dough
• Sesame or poppy seeds

• Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

Instructions

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cloak the dough (see step 1 of Sandwich Loaf). When you've formed it into a cohesive ball, poke your thumbs through the center to make a hole. Stretch open the hole until it's about 8 inches wide.
   
2. Place the dough ring on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for 25 minutes. Five minutes before baking time, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
3. Use kitchen shears to make eight slightly angled horizontal cuts around the ring's perimeter as shown, stopping just short of cutting all the way through. Reposition each cut piece so that it points outward. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle it with sesame or poppy seeds.
   
4. Bake the wreath on the oven's center rack until it's brown and firm, about 35 minutes. Let it cool slightly before serving.
   

 Herb Breadsticks:

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (orange-size piece) prepared dough
• Olive oil for brushing
• 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan

• Coarse salt
• Fresh or dried rosemary, thyme, or Italian herb mix

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or generously grease it with olive oil.
   
2. Cloak the dough to help it hold its shape while it rises: dust it with flour, then quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface and tucking it under the bottom, then rotating it a quarter-turn as you work. Roll it out into an 8- by 12-inch rectangle. Brush it generously with olive oil, sprinkle on the cheese, and scatter on salt and herbs to taste. Use a pizza cutter, as shown, or a sharp knife to slice the dough along its shorter side into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
   
3. Stretch the strips into 12-inch lengths and lay them on the prepared cookie sheet spaced one inch apart. You can make zigzag or swirled breadsticks by shaping them on the cookie sheet.
   
4. Bake the breadsticks on the oven's center rack until they're golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let them cool completely before serving.
   

Pear Fritters:

Hands-on time: 15 minutes plus 15 for frying
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes: 24 fritters

Ingredients

• Canola, peanut, or vegetable oil for frying
• 1 pound (grapefruit-size piece) prepared dough
• 1 firm pear, peeled, cored, and grated
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup currants
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of oil and heat it to 360-380 degrees. As the oil warms, cloak the dough to help it hold its shape while it rises: dust it with flour, then quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface and tucking it under the bottom, then rotating it a quarter-turn as you work. On a well-floured surface, roll it out into a 9- by 12-inch rectangle.
   
2. Combine the pear, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, currants, and nuts in a small bowl. Spread the mixture over the dough, stopping 1/2 inch from the edge. Starting at a long end, tightly roll the dough into a log as shown, then pinch the seam to seal it. Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut off 1/2-inch-thick slices from the log.
   
3. Fry the fritters in batches by carefully placing a few of them into the oil at a time, leaving enough room to let them rise to the surface as they cook. Fry them for about 1 minute, then use a slotted spoon to gently flip each one and fry it until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute more. (You may need to flip them over a few times to brown them evenly.) Transfer the fritters to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Dust the fritters with confectioners' sugar and let them cool slightly before serving.
   

Click here to visit the Artisan Bread in 5 blog for lots of fun ideas for using the dough and how to have success.

Updated on Dec 2, 2016 to add recipe specifics and new links since it appears to only be accessible with the Internet Wayback Machine.

Cran Apple tart

Yummy, delicious, and a great way to use canned cranberry sauce. This whips up quickly in the mornings and is very tasty. Using the pureed cottage cheese in the dough makes it have more protein as well, so that it's healthier! Photo is about 1/3 of the tart left. It was gone shortly after the photo!

1/3 cup cottage cheese, pureed in food processor
2 T butter
2 cups baking mix (make your own directions here)
1/3 cup milk
8 oz canned whole cranberry sauce
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 T brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
(glaze)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T milk
1 T juice
1 tsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 425 F.
Mix butter and baking mix, then add milk and make biscuit dough. Roll out on a floured surface to 12x8 rectangle.
Mix cranberry sauce, apple, sugar, cinnnamon, spread down middle of dough. Fold over sides. Cut slits in tops, at intervals.
Bake 12-15 minutes.
Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over tart. Serve.

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day

I finally got a copy of this awesome book from the library and it was worth the wait! While many of the ideas are explained on the blog, the book is a good read and full of interesting info. I made our first loaf yesterday and it was amazing. It actually did have the custard crumb interior with the perfect crust. It was delicious and I only got one piece! So we're having more today. The recipe really is super simple. It is about the technique. If you haven't read this book yet or tried this method, you really need to check it out. It will change how you view baking bread at home. I am excited for the sequel on healthier breads as well.

Link to master recipe for basic bread dough in this method.

Perfect Whole Wheat Bread

To save money on bread, I've been trying out homemade bread recipes. Spending $3+ on good bread at the store per loaf adds up quickly, especially when the same bread can be made at home for less than $1 a loaf.

I checked out lots of bread books at the local library; one was called Beth's Basic Bread Book. The recipe for this bread was inside and I was amazed at how easy it was. It kept getting better. A wheat bread that takes 3.25 hours is faster than my breadmaker, it makes 2 loaves at once, it's more reliable, it tastes great, they keep well for 3 days (or more in the freezer!) (Most homemade bread starts to go stale pretty fast without the store preservatives.) It makes great sandwiches, great toast, great snacks...we're in love with this bread!

This is a simple bread recipe, and the easiness makes it even more worthwhile. Try it out. You'll love it!

Perfect Whole Wheat Bread
(Also great for burger/hot dog buns, dinner rolls and more!)

1 cup warm water (105-115 F)
2 Tablespoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
pinch brown sugar
1 cup warm milk (105-115)
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, elted
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, fine or medium grind
3 1/2 -4 cups unbleached all-purpose or high gluten bread flour
melted butter or olive oil for brushing

1. Proof the yeast: In a small bowl or 1-cup liquid measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup of the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast and pinch of brown sugar over the surface. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes. I use cool water right now in summer when its so hot to slow down the growth a bit)

2. Mixing the dough: In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining water, milk, 1/3 cup brown sugar, melted butter, salt, egg and whole wheat flour. Beat hard until creamy, about 1 minute. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft, shaggy dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.

3. Kneading: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and springy, 1-3 minutes for machine mixed dough, 4-7 minutes for a hand mixed dough, dusting with flour only 1 Tbsp at a time, just enough as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be smooth and very springy with a slightly rough surface and sticky quality, but not dry. Do not add too much flour or the baked loaf will be dry and crumbly.

4. First rise: Place the dough in a lightly greased deep container (preferably with straight sides so its easy to see when it has doubled). Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 1-1.5 hours. Do not allow to rise any higher than double, or it may collapse and bake into a flat loaf.

5. Shaping and second rise: Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface to deflate. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 2 9x5 loaf pans. Clay pans are wonderful for this loaf. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. With the palms of your hands, roll into 4 fat sausages, each about 10 inches long. Place two of the pieces side by side. Starting in the center, wrap one around the other to create a fat twist effect. Repeat with second loaf. Place in pans. Brush tops with melted butter or oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is almost double in bulk and about 1 inch over the rims of the pans, about 30 minutes. These loaves need only a 3/4 proof for the best baked volume.

6. Baking and cooling: Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 F. Brush tops with more butter or oil. Place in center rack of oven and bake about 35-40 minutes, or until the surface of the loaves is golden brown, the sides slightly contract from the pan, and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Remove the loaves from the pans immediately to a cooling rack. Loaves are best slightly warm or at room temperature.

You take them out of the pans immediately to keep them from getting moist on the sides. Store completely cooled unsliced bread or rolls wrapped in plastic food storage bags at room temperature to keep moist for 3 days or freeze. If you use black-finish or glass loaf pans, reduce oven temp. by 25 F.

Pain Au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)

Almost a week late (as usual?) I started the recipe for this month's Chocolate Therapy challenge between my friend at Create Cakes and me. I had stuff come up last weekend, and then there is the mental block that accompanies a recipe that takes all day. Luckily, I overcame that fear, partially by figuring out when I could leave the dough as long as I needed. So this recipe is taking 2 days for me instead of 1. :P

I have wanted to try croissants for years. Trying them with chocolate and with a friend for guidance is definitely a bonus.

Below is the recipe, intermixed with my commentary and thoughts while making them.

Pain Au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)

Dough
3	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus more for dusting work surface
1	tablespoon instant yeast
1/4	cup sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
1 1/4	teaspoons table salt
1 1/4	cups whole milk , cold
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Butter Square
24	tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3 sticks), cut into 24 pieces
2	tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
Chocolate Filling
8	ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
Egg Wash
1	large egg , lightly beaten

1. For the dough: Whisk 2 3/4 cups of flour together with yeast, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Place milk in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Add flour mixture and knead at low speed until ball of dough forms, about 5 minutes. Add butter pieces to dough. Continue to knead until butter becomes fully incorporated and dough becomes smooth, begins to form ball, and clears sides of bowl, an additional 5 to 6 minutes. (Dough should be sticky, but if more dough is sticking to sides of bowl than to itself, add remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary.) Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Umm, figuring out how sticky to let it be was the hardest thing here. Also - do NOT stick your hand into sticky dough. Find another way to get it into the plastic wrap. Yikes!

2. For the butter square: Using bench scraper, toss together butter pieces and flour on clean work surface. Smear butter and flour back and forth against work surface until they have combined into smooth, homogenous mixture. Wrap butter mixture in plastic wrap and use edges of plastic wrap to form even 7-inch square. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Wow that is a lot of butter! But what an amusing process. I don't have a bench scraper, so I improvised with the back of a plastic knife and ruler. Forming the butter into a square in the plastic is easier said than done. Beating it homogenous with a few tablespoons of flour I don't know the purpose.


3. Lightly dust work surface with flour. Roll dough into 11-inch square. Place chilled butter square diagonally onto dough. Fold corners of dough up over butter square so that they meet in middle and pinch ends of dough together to seal them.

Part I am dreading that turned out to be amazingly easy. The dough rolled out silkily and didn't stick. Yay!

4. Using rolling pin, gently tap dough, starting from center of dough and going outward, until square becomes larger and butter begins to soften. At this point, start gently rolling dough into 14-inch square, checking often to make sure dough is not sticking and dusting with additional flour as necessary. Fold square into thirds to form long rectangle. (This method of folding is called a “turn” and resembles folding a business letter.) Starting from narrow ends, fold rectangle into thirds again to form square. You have now given dough 2 turns. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

5. Repeat step 4, giving dough 2 additional turns (for total of 4 turns) and chilling again for at least 2 hours.

Again, surprisingly easy. The butter is in pockets when I'm doing this - not evenly distributed per se, and I don't know if that's okay or not, but it looks alright! I was surprised at how easy rolling it out and folding it was. I did let it sit overnight after step 5. It got really large.

6. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on floured work surface and gently roll dough into 20-inch square. Use pizza cutter and ruler to cut dough into 4 equal 10-inch squares. Cut each square into thirds to make total of 12 rectangles, each approximately 10 by 31/4 inches. Place 1/2 ounce (about 1 tablespoon) chocolate in middle of each rectangle. Fold each rectangle into thirds and place it seam-side down on baking sheet.

That is A LOT of chocolate! These should be pretty good with that much chocolate in them. I'm surprised that it only makes 12, when there are over 3 sticks of butter involved. Mmmm... these are going to be good! I didn't want to chop the chocolate, but was worried that the large pieces wouldn't work out, so I tried the mini food processor and didn't have too much luck overall so I have some chocolate powder and some chunks of chocolate in each croissant. Hope it works out!

7. Cover croissants loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise at room temperature until puffy (they will not double in size), 45 to 60 minutes.

Another thing this recipe uses a lot of is plastic wrap! How did people make these before plastic wrap and parchment paper?

8. Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Using pastry brush, brush croissants with beaten egg. Bake until croissants are golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool croissants on wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mine started smelling done and looking totally done at 14 min. I blame the egg wash, which I'm not a huge fan of. I left them in until 18 and they didn't burn (I think they needed it to set up the layers) but I was nervous!

Flavor? Amazing. Definitely fluffy and layery and delicate like croissants. The huge amount of chocolate seems like not much when eating it, though more would probably overwhelm it. It really melted down! Yummmm. I think making smaller ones next time might be nice. I could halve them easily. I even think it would be fun to try them without anything in them. Wow. I want to eat them all day! LOL.

I used a combination of Lindt dark chocolate and Hershey's special dark (since that's what I have on hand!) and it was great. Dark and flavorful. Mmmm. Good chocolate therapy.