hot non-cross buns

I know most people think of hot cross buns for Easter.  I think of them for any time, and usually not Easter.  This year it was a couple of weeks after Easter when I made them.  I have a got recipe but I wanted to try something new.  I think I found something better.  I want to make them again but I need to write the recipe down, which is what I am doing today.

Hopefully, the evening with much tea, I will finish the last sleeve of my sweater.  I am also washing a canvas drop cloth to make a bag.  I have been looking at the origami type bags for ahwile now, pondering making them.  I saw one today in a linen with a leather accent.  $165.  The drop cloth I bought was $12 for the same look.  I was thinking it would be great for taking fiber, a spindle, and crocheting on my trip.  And if I truly enough extra time, a few extra Mother Day prezzies.

Now, tea, typing.  Get the recipe recorded!

hot non-cross buns

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dried currants

about 4 cups flour

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

white frosting of your choice (powdered sugar, vanilla, milk)

The night before, mix sourdough starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl.  Cover and let get bubbly.  In the morning, take a bit of the starter out for next time.

Mix in the milk, 4 tablespoons butter, sugar, egg, and allspice.  Mix in the currants.  Mix in two cups of flour.  You should have a thick dough.  Cover and let sit for about two hours or until bubbly.

Mix in the salt and 1 cup flour.  Keep adding flour until you have a stiff dough.  Turn out onto a counter and knead until smooth.  Do not add too much extra flour so you will have a lighter bread.  Put back in a clean bowl and let rise.

I divided my dough into 18 small balls because I wished to use my small muffin pans.  You can make larger buns and just place them on a cookie sheet.  Roll the dough the size you wish and either put in a greased muffin pan or on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Those on the parchement paper, flatten bit.  Cover, and let rise for one hour.  The buns need to be puffy.

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.  They will be golden.

After you take them out of the oven, in a small saucepan mix the honey, 1 tablespoon of butter, and cinnamon.   While the buns are still warm, brush or dip each bun in the honey mixture.

After the buns are cool, frost.  I always do more then just the simple cross.  But they are homemade so why not?

I think another batch.  I do not think there will be time before gallivanting.  When I get back.

Time for sweater immersion, Battlestar Galactica, put the drop cloth in the dryer, and tea.  Just a quiet evening.

vanilla rolls

My head is still very loopy.  It is rather quiet at work right now so it is probably all good.  I am waiting for 700 G of data to come back from archive so I may play with it.  But as I wait, I had some time to wonder the web.  I saw a recipe for Swedish vanilla rolls that looked quite interesting.  It is the basic Swedish cinnamon roll but without the cardamom and cinnamon.  Vanilla instead.  And we do like vanilla around here.

I had started bread this morning and looked at the ingredient list.  With a few modifications, I was there.  They turned out well.  Maybe not as vanilla as I thought but I was experimenting.  I could always figure out how to add more vanilla somehow!

vanilla rolls

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

10 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

5 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

The night before, mix starter, flour, and water in a large bowl.  Cover and let sit overnight in a warm spot until bubbly.  In the morning, remove a couple tablespoons of starter for the next time.

To the starter, add the butter, milk, sugar, and two cups of flour.  Mix well but do not worry about butter lumps.  Cover and let get bubbly.  It will look like pancake batter.

When bubbly, uncover and mix in the salt.  Mix in two more cups of flour.  You may have a soft dough that is not too sticky.  If too wet, add a bit more flour.  Dump out of the bowl on a clean counter that has been dusted with flour.  Knead until smooth.  Put back in the bowl and cover.  Let rise until double.

Mix the 2 tablespoons butter with 1/2 cup sugar.

When the bread dough is double, turn out onto  a counter and roll out into a large rectangle.  Smear with butter.  I actually used closer to a 1/4 cup then 1/2.  Spread the vanilla mixture on it.

Roll up on the long edge.  Cut into about two inch logs.  Each log, cut three slits in but do not cut all the way through.  Move the log to a baking sheet covered with a silpat and splay out each section.  Do this to each smalll cylinder.  Cover and let rise until puffy.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Uncover and bake for 20 minutes.

Yumminess!  These were actually part of dinner.  The other part of dinner was a shared pumpkin pie.  Life is pretty good today.

pumpkin chocolate babka

It is that season where there are many recipes that use pumpkin.  I like pumpkin but it is even extreme for me.  Irvin over at Eat the Love had a really cool idea of a pumpkin chocolate monkey bread.  His is more a traditional monkey bread compared to mine. 

I have been thinking about my monkey bread and have been pondering how do I keep more of the filling in the bread when I transfer it to the pan.  Then I saw a couple of recipes for babka.  Roll.  Cut.  Twist.  Transfer.  I decided to experiment with Irvin's recipe.  I know I like chocolate and pumpkin together.  Add more pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. 

Bottom line.  Life is good.  This recipe actually got requested by one of the people I took a bit share to.  Even though I have carded wool, worked on a quilt, and started bread, today's recipe is the pumpkin chocolate babka to fulfill that promise.

pumpkin chocolate babka

Note:  To use active dry yeast instead of sourdough, you will need to dissolve two teaspoons of yeast into warm water and use this mixture instead of the replenished sourdough.  Based on Irivin's Pumpkin Chocolate Monkey bread from Eat the Love

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree - not pie filling

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

about 7 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup room temperature butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup butter

enough extra brown sugar to make 1 cup

an extra 1 teaspoon cinnamon if wish

The night before, or if you have a very cold house like mine, a day before, mix the starter with the 3/4 cup water and 1 cup flour.  Mix well.  Cover and let sit until bubbly.  When bubbly, remove a couple tablespoons to use as your yeasty beasties for next time.

In the remaining starter, mix in the pumpkin, milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Mix in two cups of flour.  It should be the consistency of pancake batter.  Cover and let sit until bubbly.  This could take two hours, or in my house twelve.  Very cold house.

When the batter is bubbly, mix in the salt and the rest of the flour to about 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 cups.  The dough is going to be very soft.  Divide the dough in two.

Sprinkle a clean working surface with flour.  Take half the dough and knead until smooth and less sticky.  It is going to be very soft.  Put in a bowl.

Dump the 1/4 cup cocoa on the counter.  Take the second half of dough and knead in the cocoa.  Your are mixing in the cocoa and kneading the bread smooth at the same time.  Happy yeastie beasties!  A little extra flour is okay as you knead.  Put in a bowl and cover. 

Let rise until double.

In a small bowl, mix the two cups brown sugar with the two tablespoons pumpkin pie spice.

Butter two loaf pans.

Roll out one of the doughs until it about 1/4 inch thick and rectangular.  Dust heavily with flour and put aside.  Do the same with the other dough.  The two rectangles should be similar in size.

Lay out one rectangle.  Sprinkle with about half the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It was closer to a third of the brown sugar mixture.

Lay the other rectangle of dough on top of the first.  Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  I had about a half a cup to three quarter cup leftover.

Roll the dough up.  Roll from the side that is about two loaf pans long. 

Cut the roll in half so there are two rolls about the size of a loaf pan.  Cut the roll down the length so the brown sugar mixture can be seen.

Put the cut edge up and twist two halves together.  Place in a loaf pan.

Do the same to the other two halves.  Cover and let rise until double.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a saucepan, melt the 3/4 cup butter.  Add whatever leftover brown sugar mixture there is plus enough more brown sugar to make 1 cup.  Add an extra teaspoon or two of cinnamon if you wish.  Let boil a bit so the brown sugar dissolves in the butter.  Pour half on one loaf, half on the other.

Bake for one hour is using full size loaf pans. 

This is what it looks like without extra carmel drizzled on top of it.

This is what it looks like with extra carmel.

Both are utterly decadent.  It is all gone.  I need to make more.  I might not share this time . . .

Mor's boller (Norwegian cardamom raisin roll)

I saw this recipe on Food52 the other day and decided I needed to try it.  It is right up there with Small Mister "cookies" or hot cross buns.  Similar but a little different.  There are no eggs and there is an addition of cardamom.  The sugar is a bit more then normal. 

I think my heritage is showing.  I really like these.  Part of it is the cardamom.  Part of it is not quite so many currants or raisins.  I just feel the proportions are better.  I did use sourdough which gives a good flavor.  I have been lucky enough that the boyos really have not tried these.  It means there is enough for my breakfast this week and maybe putting one in my lunch with a bit of cheese.  I feel so spoiled.

Mor's boller (Norwegian cardamon raison roll)

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

2 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

7 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup raisins.

The night before, in a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter, water, and 1 cup flour.  Cover and let sit overnight.  In the morning, when the sponge is bubbly, remove some of the starter for next time.

In a saucepan, put the butter and melt it.  When it is almost all melted, add the milk.  You wish the milk to be just warm.  Add the milk mixture to the sponge.  Add the sugar, salt, cardamom, and raisins.  Stir well.  Mix in 3 to 4 cups of flour.  You want it to look like a thick pancake batter.  Cover and let sit until bubbly and spongy.  This should take a couple hours.

When the sponge is spongy and bubbly again,  Mix in enough of the rest of the flour to make a sticky dough.  Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth.  The dough needs to remain moist and a bit sticky so do not knead in too much extra flour.  Put in a clean bowl, cover, and let rise until double.

When double, take largish golf ball dough balls and smooth into nice balls.  Place on baking sheets covered with silpats or parchment paper.  When all the dough is shaped, cover and let rise until almost double and puffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Easter Bread

When I was a small person, I started baking bread.  I actually started baking the Easter Bread.  I think I was about eight.  I actually do not make it very often any more.  I usually make hot cross uns because I like those.  Small Mister calls them cookies which tells you how often we have them around here.  I sent off a box for Easter for him but did not get any "cookies" in there.  Maybe next year.

This year, we went camping with my Beloved's sister's family.  I decided to make the Easter Bread that I grew up with, with a few modifications, for everyone.  I would say it was a hit since this was the only picture I got of it.  It is based on the Parker House roll recipe.  The modification I make is sourdough and I do not scald the milk.  I knead the butter in instead of melt.  If you have any left over, it does make a very good sandwich too!

Easter Bread

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 large egg

3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, the night before, mix the starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water.  Cover and let sit until bubbly.  Save out a couple of tablespoons for the next baking.

Mix in the milk, butter, sugar, egg, and 2 cups flour.  Stir well.  Let sit about 1 1/2 hours.  You want a really fluffy sponge, much like pancake batter.

Mix in the salt and 1 1/2 cups flour.  It works best if this dough is on the soft side so go gentle on adding extra flour.  Start kneading.  If it is too sticky, add flour slowly.  Knead the dough until soft and smooth.  

Cover and let rise until double.  It could take 1 1/2 hours or more depending on how cold your house is.  Ours is cold.  If you need to, you can punch it down and let it rise to double again, or shape it.  If you let it rise more, the keeping ability of the bread is better and the sourdough can become a stronger flavor.  I find it is the warmer rise that makes the sourdough strong.  Or very cold and long.

Shape the bread into a braid.  I braid my hair every day so this to me is just common knowledge but here is what you wish to do.  Divide the dough into three equal portions or as close as you can make them.  On a floured surface, roll out each portion into a snake.  I find it is easier to start in the middle and work my way to the ends.  It makes a smoother snake.  Each snake should be about the same length.  

Here is the tricky bit.  Lay the snakes next to each other.  You will actually get a smoother bread braid if you start from the middle.  I am better at showing someone how to do it then write it out so try the diagrams in the Tassajara bread book or look on youtube.  When you have finished one end, do the other.

Put the braid on a baking sheet covered with a silpat or parchment paper.  Cover and let rise again.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for one hour.

To make the bread fancy for Easter, I drizzle it with a glaze made of a powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Just so good.