sticky buns

.

This food blogging thing is a lot of work! You have to, like, actually DO something interesting (in contrast to my usual practice of taking a lot of pics and posting them over time). You have to remember to take pics During your food prep as well as After, if you're going to do it thoroughly, and you can't touch the camera if your hands are all doughy..... Then you have to write up the recipe, and check it 4 or 5 times for accuracy.

All that in addition to the ordinary activities of blogging -- uploading the pics to your computer, cropping, futzing, re-sizing, and uploading them to to the web....

I didn't think to take pics until just before these went into the oven.

This is the only sort of yeast-raised bread I'm going to be making for breakfast. You do all the work the night before, stick them in the fridge, and then into a cold oven in the morning. Bake for 25 min. (until interior temp is about 200F), and then yummmmmmmmm.

Here they are after a night in the fridge, pale and doughy:






















After baking (you can see how the goo has been boiling around the edges):






















You cover the baking pan with a plate, and invert......






















In case you were wondering, my family does not eat nuts. So this is my personal private share. I used to make them in one pan, but the nuts migrate from one end of the pan to another during baking. Now I keep mine in a separate pan so I don't take abuse for trying to contaminate theirs. As if I would *rather* share my pecans!

I am happy with the bread part of these; not so happy with the sticky part, as it hardens to a rock-like consistency when it cools.....

The sticky (which I make while the dough is resting; see below):


9 tablespoons of packed brown sugar
6 (or fewer. I try to go for fewer!) tablespoons of butter
6 tablespoons of dark corn syrup

heat on the stove until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. The recipe says "stir constantly" and we stir it a lot, but maybe not quite "constantly."



The rolls:


1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

pulse the above a few times in the food processor, then remove from processor and set aside until it's time to sprinkle over the dough (see below)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 package yeast

put the dry ingredients plus butter in the food processor, and turn it on

3/4 cup hot (120F) water)

pour the hot water through the tube into the food processor

1 egg, slightly beaten

add and pulse to blend

1 3/4 cups more flour

now comes the judgement part -- mix well, adding a tablespoon or so more flour at a time, until it hangs together and cleans the sides of the food processor bowl. Sometimes no more flour is needed.

Let it rest 10 min. This is a good time to make the sticky stuff, and put it in the pan or pans. We use one 10" pie plate and one 8 or 9" pie plate, depending on which we find first. If you all agree about nuts, you could use one large rectangular pan.

When the goo is in the pans and the dough has rested 10 minutes, pat the dough out into a 15"x7" rectangle. The recipe says to do that on a greased board, but I flour instead of greasing.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the rectangle.

distribute toasted pecans to taste

Roll jelly-roll-wise, and pinch shut. Cut in one inch slices, and arrange on top of the goo. Leave room, they'll grow.

Cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge.

In the morning, unwrap, and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 375F, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden (and interior temp is 200 -- love my little digital thermometer).

Place a plate over the baking pan, and invert. Let it rest for a few minutes if you can bear to -- the goo is dripping off the pan onto the rolls.......

Devour. We like OJ with ours.............