Whitebeard said:Tom I'd love it if you shared your sticky bun recipe and any learned tricks. I think my Dear Other would give them a go.
OK, here it is, it's long, and for those who don't have an interest in it, just skip on by.
Dinner Rolls
2 Cups Buttermilk
3 Tablespoons Butter (real butter)
2 Tablespoons dry yeast
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon salt
6 Cup all purpose flour or bread flower (approximately)
1 medium sized potato cooked mashed and cooled.
3 large eggs slightly beaten
Directions:
1. Heat buttermilk, and butter to approx. 100 degrees F. Let stand until butter is mostly melted. Then pour into mixer bowl
2. Add ½ cup of the flour, sugar, and yeast to this and mix until combined to form a sponge. Proof the yeast by letting this rest for 10 to 15 minutes or until it's evident that the yeast is bubbling and working.
3. To this sponge, add 1 cup of flour, the mashed potato, and eggs, and mix on a higher speed until it is beaten together using a paddle on your stand mixer.
4. Add another cup of flour and the salt and continue mixing until incorporated.
5. Change to the dough hook, and add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time letting the mixer work the flour into the dough thoroughly before adding more flour. You may not need the full 6 cups of flour, so be careful. You want the dough to work into a ball, and not stick to the sides of the bowl, but you don't want it to become too dry. Once the dough hook is working the dough and it's not getting stuck to the bowl, then just let the machine knead the dough for at least 5 minutes.
6. After 5 minutes, remove the dough to a lightly floured surface, and kneed by hand for another minute, adding only enough flour as need to be able to work the dough. It takes some time to learn the right texture of the dough, but it should be a bit sticky, yet not adhering to your hands.
7. Form the dough into a ball, and place in a large bowl. Rub the dough with a bit of oil so it doesn't dry out, cover with a cloth and put it in a warm place. If your stove has a "proof Bread dough" setting that works nice, other wise just heat your oven for a short time and then turn it off and let it rise in the warm oven. Be sure it's not over 140 Degrees F, or it could kill the yeast.
8. Let it rise a good 45 minutes or until it's double in size, then roll it onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for a minute and replace it into the bowl to rest for 15 minutes.
9. Form the dough into round buns about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, and place in a buttered pan leaving space between them to expand. Cover them and let them rise for about 20 minutes, or until you see they are double in size.
10. Bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 25 to 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Brush with melted butter while hot.
11. This same dough can be used for raised doughnuts, cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.
To make doughnuts, roll out the dough after directions number 8 above to about a half inch on a floured surface, cut with a doughnut cutter, place on floured cloth and let rise until double, then fry as one would fry doughnuts in hot oil (375 degrees).
To make cinnamon rolls, roll out the dough after directions number 8 above into a large rectangle (Use half the dough at a time) Brush the surface with melted real butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and roll like a jelly roll. Slice in about 1 inch slices and place on greased pan, leaving enough space between them to rise, and let rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees F for approx. 25 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool and frost with a vanilla frosting, or a cream cheese frosting.
To make Sticky buns, in a round layer cake pan, melt 2 Tablespoons of real butter with 1/8 cup heavy cream, and 1/3 Cup dark brown sugar. Let that melt together until it starts to bubble, the pour in pecan pieces or arrange whole pecans as you wish. Let this cool a while, then roll out the dough as described above, and brush with real melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and roll like a jelly roll. Cut the rolls about an inch thick, and place them on top of the caramel leaving space to rise. Let them rise until double in a warm place, then bake them at 350 degrees F for approx. 25 min. or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven, and place a plate larger then the pan on them, and invert it to remove from the pan while hot. Let them cool, and eat them warm.
This recipe made this pan of dinner rolls, and the pan of sticky buns. There was enough left to make one small loaf of cinnamon bread from the left over sticky bun roll.
This recipe is one I made up after using a lot of different recipes. To make bread, I just omit the eggs and buttermilk, I use the water from the cooked potatoes, with enough extra to make 2 cups, and exchange the butter with shortening.
If anyone tries this recipe, I'd appreciate learning how it worked for you.
