Bunzzz

In lieu of a traditional post today, I simply present to you some haikus on cinnamon buns:

Oh cinnamon buns

So sinfully delicious

I could eat them all

Hello you warm buns

You won’t stop calling to me

Slathered in frosting

I’m sorry tummy

They were just so delicious

Ate too many buns

-EmW

Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

(Adapted from SmittenKitchen)

For the dough:

1 cup milk

3 Tb unsalted butter

3 ½ cups flour (you will probably need more than this though, I would leave an additional small bowl full on the side)

½ cup sugar

1 large egg

2 ¼ tsp rapid-rise or instant yeast (equivalent to 1 envelope of yeast)

1 tsp salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

For the filling:

¾ cup brown sugar

2 Tb cinnamon

¼ C unsalted butter (½ stick), softened enough to spread easily

Pinch of salt

For the frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ C unsalted butter (½ stick), room temperature

½ tsp vanilla extract

Make the dough:

1. Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave until butter melts and mixture is just warmed (about 45 seconds). Pour into bowl of stand mixer.
2. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of the bowl.
3. Add additional 2 ½ cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky. If dough is still very very very sticky, add flour by tablespoons until dough begins to form a ball and a pull away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Lightly flour a work surface. Place dough on surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky. Form dough into ball.
5. Lightly oil a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place dough ball into bowl, turning it around to coat in spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel. Let dough rise in a warm environment for approximately 2 hours, or until double in volume.

Make the filling and roll up those buns:

1. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt in a medium bowl.
2. Once dough has risen adequately, press it down. Transfer to floured work surface.
3. Roll out to an approximately 11x15 inch rectangle.
4. Spread butter over dough, leaving ½ inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter.
5. Starting at the longer side of the rectangle, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down using a sharp serrated knife, cut dough into equal slices (each approximately ½ to ¾ of an inch wide).
6. With nonstick spray, grease two 9-inch square glass baking dishes (I used two metal pans, one 9x9 and one 8x8, which also worked perfectly well).
7. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up. There will be almost no space between the rolls.
8. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and then kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm area for 40-45 minutes, or until rolls are doubled in volume. This may take longer depending on the environment, but have patience and let those buns rise!
9. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up and allow to continue cooling. Pause to enjoy the fact that your kitchen now smells like a Cinnabon shop.

Make the frosting:

1. Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl and using electric mixer, beat until smooth.
2. Spread frosting on rolls.* Serve warm or at room temperature (though I say warm is definitely the way to go…nobody has the will power to turn down a warm cinnamon bun).

*If you are not planning on eating these soon after baking or the day of baking, I would keep the frosting off and frost the buns as you eat them (after popping them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to give them that soft, hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven deliciousness)

Not Paula Deen's Bread Pudding

How do you feel about bread pudding? You can be honest, it’s really okay. Does bread pudding sound like one of those “empty” foods to you? Are there underwhelming images of white bread, milk, raisins and white sugar floating somewhere off in the distance of your memory? Does this sound altogether unappealing?

Good. That kind of bread pudding probably should sound unappealing. But what about whole wheat challah bread mixed with sautéed summer vegetables, eggs, mozzarella cheese, and fresh herbs? Sounding a little better now isn’t it? I’ve never tried a sweet bread pudding because, frankly, it just doesn’t sound like my thing, but I would still confidently put my money on this savory baby to beat even the most decadent sweet bread pudding in a fight.
Since tackling my challah bread recipe earlier this summer I’ve been experimenting with savory bread puddings and I’ve come up with an incredibly adaptable and, thus far, fool-proof recipe. Trust me, I’ve tried every jumbled combination of farmer's market vegetables in this recipe over the weeks and I assure you that whether you throw in onions, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, green beans or even beet greens, this bread pudding will always stop you in your tracks.

So back to my question—bread pudding not your thing? Great, it’s not mine either. Now that we’ve gotten this settled, you should probably go find something better to do with your time. Maybe you should make this bread pudding. What? Yeah.
-EmB

Savory Bread Pudding (loosely adapted from 101cookbooks)
Some notes before you begin: you can use another bread of your choice but challah is particularly wonderful because it magically soaks up liquid like a sponge while maintaining its structure. As for vegetables, I would throw in whatever you have on hand that’s fresh and use as much as you want; the pudding works well regardless of how many vegetables you throw in.

One 1-pound loaf day old whole wheat challah bread (or another bread of your choice)
3 cups milk (I use skim, but it is your choice)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried dill
1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped (or another vegetable of your choice, just sauté it according to your judgment)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, swiss or gruyere would work well)
Olive oil for sautéing vegetables

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13 cooking pan.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add in the zucchini (or whatever vegetable you are using) and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini browns (about ten minutes). Remove from heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Using a serrated knife, roughly cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. Put the cubes into a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, broth, eggs, salt, pepper, and dill until well combined. Mix the sautéed vegetables and ¾ cup of the cheese into the wet ingredients and then pour the mixture over the bread and fold everything together until all of the bread is moistened and the ingredients seem well combined. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of cheese. Bake the pudding for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is browned and crisp and there is no liquid in the middle. If it is browned and the pudding doesn’t jiggle too much when you shake it, I’d call it done. Let pudding sit for ten minutes to cool and set before serving.

Take a bite while it’s still warm. Now what do you think of bread pudding?