Bun-tastic!!
It all started because I realized that I was buying a lot of bread. And I mean, a lot. I switched from white bread to rye bread to make a bit more healthy. And I was still buying bag after bag. My mom gave me her recipe for buns a long time ago (like when I got married). She gave me the half batch version. The first time I tried them I burned them terribly on the bottom and they were nearly white on top. Then, for the next few years, we lived in places that had some pretty sketchy ovens. So I never tried. Then we moved here and got a really nice oven in the process. And after spending a big chunk of our grocery budget on bread, I decided to pull out the old bun recipe. And it's been great. Somewhat. At first, it seemed that very other batch was a good one. But I kept going and started getting more constantly good buns. And again I noticed that we were going through them like we went through bread. Every few weeks I was making a batch of buns. And it's not easy. It takes all morning and it's hard work to knead the dough enough to make fluffy buns. I usually need a nap in the afternoon. Although, most days I need a nap in the afternoon. (When do babies start sleeping through the night again?)
Monday is usually the day I run errands but it snowed about two feet right in front of the garage so I decided to take the plunge. I made the entire recipe. Abby wanted to help and I was feeling good so I let her. She held the spoon and stirred as I added all the ingredients. But when she started shaking the container of yeast like a maraca, I kicked her out of the kitchen. I finished up and started kneading. Everything looked fine. The dough was nice and fluffy. I told Mark that I was a bit nervous about making a full batch since I've never done it, and it makes so much dough! It lifts the lid right off my biggest bowl. And what if I don't have enough baking sheets? Well it wasn't that bad. The lid didn't rise off and I only used a few more pans than normal. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I took the first pan out. At first I didn't know what I was looking at. They looked liked I had just put them in. I thought maybe the oven was broken. Then I started thinking. Did I put the yeast in? I took it away from Abby but did I put it in the dough? That's when I started laughing/crying in the kitchen. Abby came over, gave me a hug and asked me what was wrong. She was devastated that she wasn't getting buns for lunch. However, when I told her there were still some in the freezer, she was happy. I, on the other hand, spent the next few minutes throwing out pound after pound of disgusting, very heavy dough balls. As well as a pan of what I hoped to be very yummy cinnamon buns. An entire morning wasted. All that work for nothing. So much wasted flour. And yes, I had a nap.
Today I thought I'd try it again. Abby was busy playing with Isabelle in the living room so I saw my opportunity. And wow. Was I ever wrong. About how much dough there was going to be! The lid was definitely lifted off. And I almost ran out of pans. I absolutely ran out of counter space. But the good news, the buns came out great. All 5 1/2 dozen of them. Yeesh! At least I won't have to bake again soon. Oh, and I made cinnamon buns. That's where we get to the bad news. Oh hubris. You cruel mistress. Anyway. The cinnamon bun dough rose so much. Way more than what I was expecting. And because of that, the melted butter and sugar ran over and started pooling in the bottom on the oven. I was folding laundry when I smelled the smoke. I thought the buns just rose up so much they touched the burner (yes, that's happened). But when I opened the door, and all the smoke billowed out, it all became clear. Well, not my vision, or the rest of the house. Have you ever had to air out a house in the middle of winter? (Ironically, also the first day of spring) all the windows were open, the fan was on and I had to open the door and wave it around to get the air circulating. However, once the oven was wiped off, I put the buns back in all was right again. And the cinnamon buns were fine. Except for a slight hint of smokey flavour. Yummy.
Which brings us to the pictures:
1. The failure.
2. Holy cow that's a lot of dough.
3. The finished product (some of it).
4. The cinnamon buns before entering the smoker.
5. After the smoker.
Monday is usually the day I run errands but it snowed about two feet right in front of the garage so I decided to take the plunge. I made the entire recipe. Abby wanted to help and I was feeling good so I let her. She held the spoon and stirred as I added all the ingredients. But when she started shaking the container of yeast like a maraca, I kicked her out of the kitchen. I finished up and started kneading. Everything looked fine. The dough was nice and fluffy. I told Mark that I was a bit nervous about making a full batch since I've never done it, and it makes so much dough! It lifts the lid right off my biggest bowl. And what if I don't have enough baking sheets? Well it wasn't that bad. The lid didn't rise off and I only used a few more pans than normal. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I took the first pan out. At first I didn't know what I was looking at. They looked liked I had just put them in. I thought maybe the oven was broken. Then I started thinking. Did I put the yeast in? I took it away from Abby but did I put it in the dough? That's when I started laughing/crying in the kitchen. Abby came over, gave me a hug and asked me what was wrong. She was devastated that she wasn't getting buns for lunch. However, when I told her there were still some in the freezer, she was happy. I, on the other hand, spent the next few minutes throwing out pound after pound of disgusting, very heavy dough balls. As well as a pan of what I hoped to be very yummy cinnamon buns. An entire morning wasted. All that work for nothing. So much wasted flour. And yes, I had a nap.
Today I thought I'd try it again. Abby was busy playing with Isabelle in the living room so I saw my opportunity. And wow. Was I ever wrong. About how much dough there was going to be! The lid was definitely lifted off. And I almost ran out of pans. I absolutely ran out of counter space. But the good news, the buns came out great. All 5 1/2 dozen of them. Yeesh! At least I won't have to bake again soon. Oh, and I made cinnamon buns. That's where we get to the bad news. Oh hubris. You cruel mistress. Anyway. The cinnamon bun dough rose so much. Way more than what I was expecting. And because of that, the melted butter and sugar ran over and started pooling in the bottom on the oven. I was folding laundry when I smelled the smoke. I thought the buns just rose up so much they touched the burner (yes, that's happened). But when I opened the door, and all the smoke billowed out, it all became clear. Well, not my vision, or the rest of the house. Have you ever had to air out a house in the middle of winter? (Ironically, also the first day of spring) all the windows were open, the fan was on and I had to open the door and wave it around to get the air circulating. However, once the oven was wiped off, I put the buns back in all was right again. And the cinnamon buns were fine. Except for a slight hint of smokey flavour. Yummy.
Which brings us to the pictures:
1. The failure.
2. Holy cow that's a lot of dough.
3. The finished product (some of it).
4. The cinnamon buns before entering the smoker.
5. After the smoker.
So I noticed we've been buying a lot of perogies lately...
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