Biocca Buns - part 2

[Guest guest]

OK, here was the followup email. The individual I sent the recipe to

asked for more information on technique - he's never made bread.

 

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About proofing

the yeast.. Leave the warm water and yeast in a glass cup for awhile

until it bubbles up. I usually throw in a pinch of sugar which

encourages sluggish yeast. (Sugar promotes yeast growth, salt retards it.)

 

Make sure when you add the hot ingredients that you don't cook the eggs.

You have to add them in an order that is cool enough when it's time

for the eggs. The very first time I made this recipe on my own I threw

in the hot potatoes and melted butter and ended up with scrambled eggs.

 

Also, if the ingredients are too hot, you risk killing the yeast - which

you don't want to do until you pop it into the oven.

 

When you are adding the flour, keep adding it until it becomes nice

and... spongy. I liken it to a baby's bottom. When you push it, it

pushes back. I usually knead for about 20 minutes. The longer you

knead, the lighter the bread. But don't overknead (almost impossible to

do by hand - but easy to do in a mixer). It's very hard to describe

what the dough it like when it's ready to go into the fridge. It's

smooth, but with maybe a few tiny bubbles. It smells wonderful. It's

nice and solid. Give it a little slap. I usually make anyone in the

vicinity admire how beautiful it is and how yummy it smells and how much

it's like a baby's bottom.

 

Then you need to put some olive oil into a bowl and put the ball of

dough in. Then turn it around to coat it with the oil. Then cover the

bowl with plastic wrap - very securely. Make sure the bowl is MUCH

larger than the ball of dough. It rises in the fridge. You'll be

impressed how much bigger it is in several hours. If it starts to

become too large, punch the dough down and cover again. If you keep it

in the fridge for several days, you'll have to punch it down

occasionally to keep it in check. If any of it is exposed to air for

awhile, it becomes hard and crusty - rip that part off and throw it away.

 

My favorite technique of making the rolls is to take a big pan - doesn't

matter what size or kind. Coat it with butter or nonstick spray. Cut

the dough into equal size balls. I usually cut the ball in half. Then

I cut each half into half. And so on and so on until I have about 24

rolls (though I can't remember exactly how many). Flour your fingers

when working with the little balls of dough so they don't stick - but

don't put much flour onto the dough at this point or you risk it

becoming tough.

 

Take each ball and roll it with your hands. Then I kind of pull it so

that the top is nice and smooth and I bury the rough bits underneath. I

put it into the pan and go onto the next one. I snug up the rolls right

next to each other. Then you rip them apart to eat them and have those

nice moist edges. Fill up the pan. If it's too large, fine. If it's

too small, grab another pan. This is how you make Monkey bread. When

you've finished all the balls, cover the pan with a towel (or plastic,

it doesn't seem to matter which), and let rise. This can really vary by

time depending on how warm the kitchen is. If it's taking too long,

I'll put it in someplace warm, like in a slightly warm oven (I'll turn

the oven on to low for a short while, turn it off, and pop the rolls in

to rise. Or sometimes I'll place it in front of a heater vent. Or on

top of a fridge.) Then, before I pop them into the oven, I melt another

half cup of butter. I brush it all over the rolls. I take whatever is

left and I drizzle it over the rolls. Then I pop them into the oven and

cook them at approx 425 for approx 45 minutes. Again, this is

approximate. But if you make the rolls like this, it takes them longer

to cook than if you had them as separate little entities. The bread is

done when it emits a hollow sound when you tap it. And it should be a

nice golden brown color.

 

I warn you, this bread doesn't go far. If I'm serving a large crowd - I

make the recipe twice. I've found that doubling it doesn't work that

well, so I actually make it twice. For Christmas we always make one

recipe for Christmas dinner, and one recipe for cinnamon rolls Christmas

morning. I've even used this recipe for pizza dough - though it's a bit

sweet.

 

That's all I can think of. I didn't give my MIL this much info - maybe

that's why she had trouble. But this is basic bread making 101 and the

recipes assumes you know about that, like any good housewife in the 20s.

 

-s-