Why is it that we are expected to paint our own houses, build our own decks, do our own taxes and yet people are floored when I actually make something like burger buns from scratch? They don’t call for blueprints and hardware and lumber from Home Depot – only flour, water, eggs and yeast. Easy. I can’t build a deck, but I can make a bun.
And isn’t that the true meaning of convenience? Not the availability of Wonder Bread buns at 7-11 24 hours a day, but the ability to make your own, from scratch, in about the same amount of time it takes to get in the car and drive to the store. (Minus rising time, of course, but you’re not actually doing anything at that point anyway, so it really shouldn’t count.)
If you have burgers on the agenda over the next couple months, and I know you do, try mixing up a batch of these instead of those crusty generic Kaiser buns that make far too much of a mess anyway. Making them is fun. It’s not difficult. And your burgers will be the best dressed ones at the party. (Even when it’s not a party.)
In other news: the bean book finally squeezed through its final round of edits! Sue and I have spent approximately a thousand hours over the past 48 on speaker phone marking up the manuscript with red pen and sticky notes. It’s sealed up in a box and leaning on the front door, even if the (presumably overworked) FedEx guy never showed to pick it up today. Maybe tomorrow.
Brioche Burger or Slider Buns
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter
additional egg, for brushing, and/or sesame seeds (optional)
In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the water, milk, sugar and yeast. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, until it’s foamy. (If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is kaput – get some fresh yeast and try again!) Crack the egg into it and beat it a little with a fork to break it up.
Meanwhile stir together the flour and salt; add the butter and blend it in with a pastry blender, whisk or your fingers, rubbing it until it’s crumbly, as if you were making pastry. Add the yeast mixture and stir until you have a soft dough; beat it with a dough hook in your stand mixer or knead it on a lightly floured countertop until it’s nice and smooth; 5-10 minutes. It will be stickier than regular dough; resist the urge to add too much flour. Leave it tacky.
Place the ball of dough back into the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it sit for an hour or so, until doubled.
Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces (or 20 if you want wee slider buns), shape them into balls, place them a couple inches apart on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray or lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Brush the buns with a little beaten egg if you like, and sprinkle them with sesame seeds. Bake for 10-15 minutes (a bit longer if you made larger buns) until golden.
June 23 2011 | bread | 18 Comments »
We’re all in California right now – I’m lying in bed on the first morning in Disneyland, the boys completely wiped, still snoring, but the plan is to bolt out of bed in time to be among the first at the new Star Wars ride when the park opens at 8. Then we have brunch with Chip n’ Dale (the Disney ones-that’s a whole nother theme park) at 10.
We were in San Francisco for the past 2 days. I have a ton of pictures waiting to be flipped through and uploaded. Meanwhile, these are the biscuits we made for my Dad on the morning we left (Sunday), following some pretty nasty dental surgery. He wanted something soft to nibble on, and loves any version of these sticky biscuits. We made them with maple syrup, and delivered them en route to the airport.
Every cinnamon bun lover should have this recipe. You can swap the maple syrup for honey or golden syrup, and/or add a shake of cinnamon before you roll the dough up. It’s instant gratification in the morning. And you won’t miss the butter – I promise! There’s a dab in the pan to keep you happy.
Maple Sticky Biscuits
Stickiness:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
Biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Combine butter, brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted and smooth. Pour over the bottom of an 8”x8” baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the milk and canola oil and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough. Do not overmix!
On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough into a 9” x 14” rectangle. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts (if using) and drizzle with maple syrup. Starting from a long side, roll tightly jelly-roll style into a log. Cut into 9 biscuits using dental floss or a serrated knife, and place cut side down in the pan.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Invert onto a platter while still warm.
Makes 9 sticky biscuits.
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June 15 2011 | bread and breakfast | 15 Comments »
Sorry, really. But it’s Fat Tuesday – I’m working with a theme here. And if I were to be giving something up for lent, these would be worthy of ditching. They’re that good. Don’t you just want to curl up and go to sleep on one? Or nestled among them?
Buttermilk Beignets
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the countertop
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
canola oil, for cooking
icing sugar, for dusting
In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges. Pour into a large bowl (one that goes in a stand mixer, if you have one) and stir in the buttermilk. Stir in the yeast and sugar and set aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast starts to bubble. (If it does nothing, it may be inactive – you’ll need fresh yeast.)
Add 2 cups of the flour, the baking soda and salt and mix until well blended. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and continue mixing for a few more minutes, until the dough starts to come together but is still very sticky – you wouldn’t be able to knead it if you wanted to. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside in a warm place for an hour, until doubled in bulk. At that point it shouldn’t be sticky anymore.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out 1/2-inch thick. (You may need to dust the surface of the dough with flour as well to keep it from sticking.) With a sharp knife, dough scraper or pizza wheel, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. (They will puff up as they cook – you don’t want them too big, or they won’t cook all the way through.) If you want to make them ahead, place them on a parchment-lined sheet, cover and keep them in the fridge for up to 8 hours before frying.)
In a large, heavy pot, heat a couple inches of canola oil until it’s hot but not smoking – it should read 375°F on a thermometer. Cook the beignets a few at a time – without crowding the pot, or the oil will cool down and the beignets will wind up greasy – until golden on each side. It should take about 4 minutes – turn them with tongs as you need to, then remove with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Serve warm, doused generously in icing sugar. Makes lots.
March 08 2011 | bread and breakfast | 8 Comments »
I made scuffles! I never knew they existed until Kelley mentioned she was making them this Christmas in the string of free stuff comments, and I couldn’t resist the allure of their name. They’re Ukranian, even, which Mike technically is. Yes, I married into a Ukranian family who hates cabbage rolls and peroghies (possibly because when they did eat them they were the generic kind from the grocery store) – no good recipes passed down from the Saskatchewan farm. No amazing sour cream-and-bacon-laden Sunday dinners. No peroghy bees. I tried making some good old-fashioned Ukranian dishes myself for awhile, thinking I might trigger some nonexistent nostalgia, to no avail.
I still like the idea that these were Ukranian. If I can’t inherit recipes from my own mother-in-law, Kelley’s mother-in-law will have to do. (No offense to Mike’s mom – really. She’s very sweet, she just isn’t much into cooking.) As Christmas sneaks up, it occurs to me that the fact that the scuffles dough must be refrigerated overnight is ideal – perfect to prep ahead to assemble on Christmas morning. And the kids loved the assembly part.
Ukranian Scuffles
adapted from Food.com and Kelley’s mother-in-law.
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
sugar and cinnamon, for rolling
In a small dish, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3 Tbsp. sugar and salt. Add the butter, cutting it in with a fork or pastry cutter as if you were making pie crust.
Add the milk, eggs, and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead a few times, until smooth – it will be sticky. Put in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. This dough is very soft and must be chilled before use.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide dough into 6 parts, keeping one part out and putting the rest back in the fridge until ready for it. Scatter the countertop generously with sugar and cinnamon, and roll each piece into a circle on the sugar – they should be about 1/4″ thick. Cut into wedges (the recipe said 12 per round if the thickness is 1/8 inch – I cut mine in 8 and the dough was slightly thicker); roll from wide end to narrow end.
Place on a lightly greased baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool well. These freeze very well.
December 22 2010 | bread and breakfast | 17 Comments »
We’ve been nibbling on these pear loaves for the past two days-my motivation, as usual, were two beautiful pears I forgot about in the bottom of the fridge that I couldn’t bear to let go without fulfilling their reason for being. Or one reason, at least. You know how I hate to waste stuff.
Overripe pears turn almost to sauce when you grate them on the coarse side of a box grater. They’re great for muffins and cakes, and pancakes and oatmeal, and add sweetness and fibre, too. I sound like my Dad. These would be festive with a handful or two of fresh (or frozen) cranberries.
Tonight, W and I will be baking 200+ cookies for the Christmas concerts at Ramsay school tomorrow. (I’m thinking molasses-ginger crinkles, Russian tea cakes, and red and white striped candy cane cookies I’ve never made before.) Eggs on toast and French onion soup for dinner.
Spiced Pear Loaves
To make muffins, bake the batter in paper-lined muffin tins for 25-30 minutes.
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour, or half all-purpose, half whole wheat
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large ripe pears, coarsely grated
1 cup buttermilk
a handful of raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350?F. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes, until pale yellow and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Add about a third to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Add half the grated pears and half the buttermilk, then another third of the flour, the rest of the pears and buttermilk and the rest of the flour, stirring or beating on low speed just until combined.
Gently stir in the raisins or cranberries and scrape the batter into two 8-x 4-inch loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden and tops are springy to the touch. Cool completely in their pans on a wire rack. Makes 2 loaves.
December 14 2010 | bread and breakfast | 4 Comments »
