Monday, December 5, 2011

Butter Swirl Buns

I bake a lot of bread. Most of the time I make loaves for home use, but for special dinners, buns seem more appropriate. These buttery swirl buns are perfect for all you special occasions. They taste rich, and they look more festive than a plain round bun.

If you don't want the extra butter, you can skip it - or cut back - but still roll up the buns, It will give you a more interesting shape.

If you want to add some extra flavor, you can sprinkle some herbs on along with the butter.

The instructions here are for kneading with a stand mixer, but you can also knead by hand or with a food processor.

Butter Swirl Buns

1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons very soft  butter, divided

Combine the water, yeast, sugar, and bread flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Knead until the mixture is elastic. Add the salt and 2 tablespoons of butter and continue kneading until both are incorporated. Cover the bowl and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. form it into a rough rectangle, then roll it out with a rolling pin to a rectangle 12 x 18 inches, flouring your work surface as needed to keep it from sticking.

With one of the long sides facing you, brush the butter on the dough, covering the entire surface, but leaving about 1 inch uncovered on the far end.

Starting at the end closest to you, start rolling the dough loosely, jellyroll style. When you get to the far end, seal the seam.

Cut the dough into 4 even pieces, then cut each of those into 3 pieces, so you have 12 pieces. Arrange them cut-side up on the prepared pan. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until they are doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees until the rolls are nicely browned, about 25 minutes. If you won't be serving them warm, place them on a rack to cool.

 This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
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