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Holiday Baking Continued: Goat Cheese-Stuffed Wheat Buns!
Nolan, my sister, her husband, and I are taking a trip to New York tomorrow. It's a bus trip, 10 hours riding on a coach bus for the sake for 8 hours in the city. We're going because we used to do this when we were younger. We're doing this to reignite some old traditions that will, most likely, never fit into the mold of our lives now; but, god damnit if we don't try.
But this week, I've done a lot of baking. A lot of testing. A lot of trying to make the house warm with the oven on. A lot of convincing myself to keep moving forward, a direction I've always considered to be the better of the the two options available. And, to keep this post as short as possible so I can finish packing, here is a recipe I made this week. Goat cheese-stuffed buns, made with wheat and studded with walnuts. A little bit of the warmest flavors I could find in the fridge to stave off the cold from coming too close to our kitchen.
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Wheat Buns
Ingredients:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 packet of Red Star platinum yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg + 1 white, both room temperature (use extra yolk for egg wash, see directions below)
- 2 TB honey
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces goat cheese (I used Vermont Creamery’s Coupole, but any goat cheese will do)
- Walnuts, if desired
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, heat milk, water, and butter until butter is completely melted. Stir to combine and transfer to your stand mixer’s bowl. Let stand until temperature reaches 110*F
- Add yeast and salt
- Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbling
- While mixture is resting, sift together flours
- Turn on stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, and add your egg and honey
- With mixer still on, add your flour mixture, about a ½ cup at a time, until a shaggy dough forms (depending on your wheat flour used and altitude, you may require just a little less flour than this recipe calls for)
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 6 minutes or until dough is springy to the touch
- Place in an oiled bowl and let rest for one hour at room temperature
- After your hour has elapsed, preheat oven to 400*F and grease a 9-inch pan thoroughly. Also, cut your goat cheese into 8 pieces or so
- Punch dough down and divide into 8 or 9 pieces
- Pat each piece of dough flat with the palms of your hands and place a piece of goat cheese in the center
- Form a ball with the dough, leaving the goat cheese in the center
- Place in your pan
- Repeat with remaining dough
- Now, whisk your extra yolk with a teaspoon of water to create your egg wash. Brush a bit on top of each dough ball
- Press a walnut in the center of each ball, if desired, as well
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown
- Serve immediately for a melt, delicious warm bun. But, these can keep and be reheated for up to two days in an airtight container
Thank you to Red Star Yeast for sponsoring this post. I believe in using quality products when it comes to baking and I am always confident my dough will rise beautifully with Red Star! Check out the active dry yeast I used for this recipe and others on their website, follow them on instagram and like their Facebook!
And while you're at it...like my Facebook and Instagram too!
A Simple Bread for a Simple Life
The dogs always seem to want up before the sun. I'm not sure what it will be like when we get chickens, but I hope my sluggish eyes can keep up with their demands. The sun rises right over the white barn that sits at the edge of our neighbor's property and blinds us by 10 in the morning. The house needs curtains. We are not shut-ins, but we need our own form of privacy from the world, the elements, the mailman, and the buzzards that circle and circle and circle the roadside.
We bought food in bulk before we moved in, things we thought we'd crave that weren't perishable. We have a sack of rice hidden in the back of the cupboard behind the dog food. Pasta sauce that doesn't look as appealing as it did on the store shelf. In the back of the cabinet, behind the clover honey and the tomato paste, I found a jar of kalamata olives that became the inspiration for this bread.
While a quick bread is not my go-to, I love the ease and convenience of this Irish soda bread, cut into rolls and kneaded by hand. They are still delicate, crumbly, and can last for a couple days. Just long enough to enjoy for the weekend while watching the sun cast shadows on the house you own now.
Olive Irish Soda Rolls
Ingredients:
- 4 cup AP flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 TB cultured butter (or unsalted butter), cold
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375*F and grease a 12 inch cast iron skillet or casserole dish
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients
- Using your hands, pinch your butter between your fingers into the dry mixture until fats are the size of peas
- Create a well in the center of your ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in your buttermilk and egg
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead until dough is springy (will be sticky at first)
- Knead in olives
- Cut into eights and roll into balls
- Place into greased skillet and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown
Hot Cross Buns for Easter: In Partnership with Red Star Yeast
So suddenly the winter’s gone and the salt-stained boots lying in the mudroom are the only indication it ever stopped by at all. Without invitation, Spring trespassed on the cold mornings, stretched her arms and I kept my windows open to greet her. A lot has happened in six months and this persephonic heat wave doesn’t remember any of it. And I thank her for that.
I’m drinking my coffee on the porch these days, a blanket and a dog on my lap. I take my time. I don’t wear cologne these days, all my clothes smell like the breeze. A finch sat on the porch swing last night and didn’t seem to notice me. I’m enjoying the times I get to be invisible. A truck broke down a mile from my house; but I just kept driving.
This week is almost Easter and that, too, crept up on me. I haven’t celebrated in a few years—I let life get the best of me and was too busy trying to forget about others. We’re celebrating early, my parents are driving to their house in North Carolina and my sister works the weekend shift now. We’re meeting at a truck stop and eating at a diner. My dad says I can order anything I want on the menu, he’s just happy to have me home now. My mom apologizes for the last-minute choice, but the candy store’s busy and she’s too tired to cook when she gets home. I say it’s all fine because it really is. As long as I’m with them, I’m happy.
But I kept one tradition going this year, to keep the memories of cellophane grass and hollow chocolate bunnies alive. I made hot cross buns for tomorrow, for Good Friday. I made these for every tradition I thought I forgot, for every year I thought I could leave them all behind. I’ll give a few to my sister and her husband and pack the rest in a basket for my mom and dad. It may not be much, but it’s all I can give. It’s been a long six months of winter for me.
Coconut-Roasted Carrot Hot Cross Buns with Pineapple Ginger Icing
Yields 12-18 buns
Ingredients for the Roasted Carrot Puree:
- 5-8 carrots, cleaned
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions for the Roasted Carrot Puree
- Preheat oven to 425*F and prepare a pan with aluminum foil
- Lay carrots on foiled pan, spread out
- In a small measuring cup, whisk coconut oil, sugar, olive oil, pepper, and salt
- Pour mixture over carrots and stir with a wooden spoon to coat
- Roast for 25-35 minutes or until browned, tender, and a little caramelized
- Let cool and puree in a food processor
Ingredients for Coconut-Roasted Carrot Hot Cross Buns:
- 2 cups water, warm to the touch
- 5 teaspoons Red Star Active Dry Yeast
- 1/2 cup white sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup roasted carrot puree (above)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- ½ tablespoon of orange zest
- 4 1/2-6 cup AP flour
Directions for Coconut-Roasted Carrot Hot Cross Buns:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Let sit for five minutes until foamy
- Add egg, puree, orange zest, and butter. Turn mixer on low to mix all ingredients together
- Keeping the mixer on, begin adding flour, one cup at a time. Keep adding flour until dough begins to stick away from sides of bowl (if you add too much flour and dough becomes "sandy", add a small amount of water or milk to reconstitute)
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until springy
- Place in a well-oiled bowl, turning once. Cover with a towel and let sit for an hour in a warm, dry place until doubled in size.
- Turn back out onto floured surface and punch down slightly. Cut into 12 or 18 equal pieces and place well-oiled pan
- Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes
- While rising, preheat oven to 350*F
- Bake for 25-32 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Allow to cool slightly before icing tops of crosses
Ingredients for Pineapple Ginger Icing:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoon pineapple juice
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
Directions for Pineapple Ginger Icing:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, mix cream cheese, ginger, and pineapple juice on medium-high until well incorporated
- With mixer reduced to a medium-low speed, begin adding confectioner’s sugar, a half-cup at a time until icing is a desired viscosity with no lumps
- Spoon icing into a piping bag and pipe crosses onto buns
- Allow to sit for two minutes
- Enjoy!
Thank you to Red Star Yeast for sponsoring this post. I believe in using quality products when it comes to baking and I am always confident my dough will rise beautifully with Red Star! Check out the active dry yeast I used for this recipe and others on their website, follow them on instagram and like their Facebook!
And while you're at it...like my Facebook and Instagram too!
A new breakfast: Honey Oat Rolls
We create our own mythology and my sabbath is the morning. Ritual has become important for me, no matter how undeniably boring it may seem. I like the simple beginnings to the day, the power to breathe without feeling stifled. The power to slowly shake the dust of sleep from my hair and curl up on the couch while I hit snooze over and over again. Milo wakes up first and the rest of the house follows. I measure out 8 cups of water, 4 scoops of coffee. While it percolates, I lay on the couch, under a tattered Navajo blanket and try to stay warm. We keep the air on all night, it makes us lazy in the morning. We tuck our feet into anything warm, pillowcases and warm puppy bellies. Elsa's sleepy eyes stare at me until I crack my back and start my day. Put the clothes in the dryer, wash my face, duck my hair under the faucet. I drink two cups of coffee and walk out the door. I don't eat until dinner.
But when the summer comes, I sleep longer. I break my own dogma. I'm a little hungrier than the day before. I woke up this morning and wanted oatmeal, peasant food. Warm food. The air conditioning was cold and I needed to be warm, to feel like home. The way my mother used to make it, sweet and buttery. I kneaded it into a bread dough and made these rolls. I'll eat them all week, warmed up and enjoyed with my coffee. With the dogs at my feet, waiting for a ripped morsel. With a boy breathing in my bedroom, his head chasing the daylight, avoiding it at all costs.
Honey Oat Rolls
oft and delicate, these rolls remind me of home. Add a little smoked salt for a savory kick, or keep them sweet and light with your coffee and cream. Makes 12-14 rolls.
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, heat water to a boil and add oatmeal
- Cook oatmeal by simmering for2 minutes, until tender.
- Add sugar, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt and stir. Simmer for an additional 3 minutes or until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Mixture will be sticky
- Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a hook attachment. Allow to stand and cool until outside of bowl is warm, but not hot to the touch (approx. 110*F)
- Stir in yeast with a fork and allow to sit for 5 minutes. You will not see any bubbles (the mixture is so viscous), but it will help to activate the yeast
- Turn machine on low and first four cups of flour, one at a time. Allow to mix on medium for 4 minutes and gradually add remaining flour to create a steady dough
- Roll onto a floured surface and sprinkle in remaining salt and sugar (I like the small amount of texture separating the spices like this can bring). Knead for 5 minutes until dough is springy. Place in an oiled bowl (turning once to oil the top as well) and allow to sit in a warm place, covered, for an hour or until doubled in size.
- Once hour is done, preheat oven to 350* and punch dough down. Grease a 12 inch cast iron skillet with butter and divide dough evenly into 12-14 equal parts, rolling them in your hand and placing them seam side down. Cover with towel and let rise for 20 minutes
- Gently rub tops with small amount of butter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffed. Remove and cool gently
- Store in airtight container to enjoy 3-4 days after baking.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup oatmeal (it would be fun to experiment with different flavors. Peaches and cream anyone?
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup rich honey, clover
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 tablespoon butter, room temperature. Plus extra for greasing
- 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 1/2-5 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoon white sugar