Saint Lucia Buns

If I were a TRUE food blogger, things would look a little bit different around here. Firstly, I would actually be posting about food (minor detail) and, secondly, I would be providing you seasonal recipes PRIOR to pertinent holidays to help you welcome said special day with greater preparedness. But since this has morphed into what my husband tells me is most definitely a “mom blog,” I suppose it is more fitting that I am posting this recipe AFTER the holiday has already passed, because us moms, well, don’t we always feel about three steps behind? But it’s all a matter of perspective! Consider yourselves 363 days ahead of schedule for NEXT year (you’re welcome) and don’t forget to check back about ten days into December 2018 to make sure you have all the essential ingredients for a traditional Saint Lucia Bun.

If American Girls were any part of your childhood, the mention of Saint Lucia might ring a bell in a distant memory. Blast to the past along with me and recall, Kirsten, the blond-haired American Girl doll who immigrated to from Sweden. I loved all the books about Kirsten but it’s “Kirsten’s Surprise” that we are going to focus on today. It’s in the pages of this book that Kirsten, as the oldest daughter in her household, rises in the wee hours of the morning on Saint Lucia Day. Wearing white and adorned with a wreath of candles on her head, she awakens each of her family members by delivering Saint Lucia buns and coffee to each of their beds. Thanks to Kirsten, every little girl who has ever lived has dreamed of dressing as Saint Lucia and delivering buns ever since.

I consider myself one of the lucky kids. My parents didn’t often splurge on trending toys, but for whatever reason, they did eventually break down and buy my sister and I each an American Girl doll after years of pleading.  I’m sure this is where I first learned about Saint Lucia.

Saint Lucia Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Lucia, falls on December 13^th and commemorates a 3^rd-century martyr who, according to legend, supplied food to Christians who had taken refuge in the catacombs. She is believed to have worn a white dress and a wreath of candles on her head to light her way, freeing her arms to carry as much food as they could hold. Calendar reform has since shifted things slightly, but the holiday once fell upon Winter Solstice, the shortest and therefore darkest day of the year. The holiday was often referred to as the “Festival of Light,” representing Christ’s coming to earth as our light. On Saint Lucia Day, girls would honor tradition by dressing in white light Saint Lucia and processing together carrying plates of Saint Lucia Buns and cookies, portraying this “bringing of the light of Christ” to a dark world.

Alright. Enough with the history lesson. Back to my sister and me. She sister was gifted the Kirsten doll (I had a special affinity toward Samantha, the better one, obviously) but I read the books about both all the same.  Over time, my sister and I collected quite the set up for our dolls – clothing (much of it hand-sewn by my mom!), a table and chairs, and a homemade four-poster bed, courtesy of my dad’s woodworking skills. At some point, we also acquired the American Girl Cookbook. It was filled with recipes and pictures of all the dishes mentioned in the books, each with some sort of historical backstory. I guess you could say I was always destined to be a foodie since a cookbook like this excited me to no end, even at the ripe young age of nine years old.

The recipe for Saint Lucia Buns was in that cookbook I received over two decades ago. I never made them but seeing that recipe must have planted a seed in my subconscious. Fast forward to last year when my eight-year-old got her hands on the Kirsten book series. Suddenly that seed sprouted to fruition and I found myself in the kitchen making Saint Lucia Buns so my eldest could emulate Kirsten and dress up as Saint Lucia on Saint Lucia Day, fulfilling the dream she and every girl who had gone before her shared. Donning a white dress, wearing a “wreath” and delivering homemade buns by candlelight in the wee hours of the morn was a hit for my daughter, as well as for every other member of the family (who are we to argue with warm carbs??) And so, despite our lack of Swedish heritage, a new tradition was born.

The making of the buns is straight forward, particularly if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook that does most of the messy work for you. The recipe comes together much faster if you actually have yeast on your person and you don’t have to take a 90-minute break wandering, sans kids, through the aisles of Target in search of some. Such additional steps typically result in excessive “accidental expenditures” on essentials like adorable Christmas mugs and journals because “they make great stocking stuffers.” But I digress.

The original recipe had you measuring the ingredients by weight (how European!) but since most home cooks do not own a kitchen scale, I did some math and some guessing and came up with a version that is American-kitchen-friendly.  

Lastly, since I’m a “mom blogger,” not a REAL food blogger, I will warn you that some of my descriptions might come across as, let’s say, less than scientific. I intend for this recipe to be something you can make WITH your kids which is why I consider phrases like “We’re looking for snakes here, not slugs” to be a perfectly acceptable descriptor for helping them visualize how thin they should be rolling their ropes of dough before shaping them. I made the dough all the way through the first rise before the kids came home from school and then they joined me for the remainder of the steps.

Even if you don’t plan to dress as Saint Lucia, these rolls make a delicious sweet bun to accompany your coffee. Feel free to serve them as a special dinner roll on Christmas or any other fancy occasion. They freeze well and are well served warm. Happy Saint Lucia Day…363 days in advance!

Saint Lucia Buns

(adapted from the New York Times)

12 Tablespoons (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

2 ½ cups lukewarm milk (I warm mine in microwave for ~1 minute)

2 packages dry active yeast (or 4 ½ teaspoons)

¾ teaspoon saffron

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

7 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

Black raisins, for garnish

In a glass measuring cup or medium-sized bowl, combine melted butter and warm milk. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve the yeast in a small amount of the butter and milk mixture. Once dissolved, add remainder of the butter and milk mixture. Grind saffron in a mortar and pestle if you have one, or by crumbling with your fingertips over the butter, milk and yeast mixture. Add to butter/milk/yeast mixture along with sugar and salt and whisk well.

Add flour, a few cups at a time, beating with the dough hook of your mixer until a soft dough forms. Continue to beat dough with the mixer for about 5 minutes, adding a small amount of flour at a time, as necessary, to keep dough from sticking. Alternatively, if no mixer is available, add flour using a wooden spoon and then knead by hand for about 10 minutes once a soft dough forms. Return dough to bowl.

Cover bowl with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes to one hour. (I usually turn on my oven and leave the door open to allow some of the heat to escape. After a few minutes, I turn the oven off. Voila! The oven top has become a cozy spot where the dough can rise).

Now it’s time to gather the offspring and let them get in on the fun. Taking mandarin orange-sized lumps of dough, roll each into a long rope (here is where you tell them “we’re looking for snakes here, not slugs”), about the circumference of your finger. Form the rope into the shape of an “S” and then continue to curl each end toward the center until they form two pinwheels (see picture). When they rise a second time, the buns uncurl some which is why it’s important to roll out thinner ropes. Place shaped buns onto a greased cookie sheet, cover with a towel and let rise in your cozy place for another 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush each bun with beaten egg and poke a raisin into the center of each pinwheel. Bake buns for 12-15 minutes until golden. Eat warm.

Makes about 2 dozen buns

Greek Easter Bread

This isn't really the kind of recipe that you whip together in a matter of hours. But since when has homemade bread ever been? 

I cannot even believe that Easter is around the corner. I always hate it when stores fill their display cases with "seasonal" decor like three decades before the "season" is actually upon us. But I digress. Last week, I was gifted a rare opportunity to pay Target a visit ALONE. You young mama peeps out there know the danger in that statement. I entered the store and was immediately greeted by all the Easter fluff which put the holiday on my radar for the very first time - Easter must be approaching!! Sometime within in the next 3 months at least, if I'm going by the store display as my calendar.

As it turns out, Target was right! Further investigation led me to discover that Easter is a mere three weeks away. How did that happen?! And so, I'm doing the unheard of and giving you a holiday recipe before the actual holiday. You're welcome. 

I'll have you know that I sacrificed the grout on my kitchen floor when I made this recipe for the first time last year. You see, the thing is, when a mugful of red dye spills onto the table and then flows like a rushing river upon to the floor, it is nearly unstoppable. It seeps into the grout, creating little channels of red fluid, like a pathway across your kitchen. Despite your very best efforts, no speed of paper towel grabbage will be quite fast enough to put a halt to it's red permanence. Alas, the table your in-law's loaned you will forever show the signs of The Easter of 2015. As will your floor, of course. The area around your kitchen table may look frightfully similar to a florescent murder scene, but don't be alarmed, Easter egg aftermath is like that sometimes.

BUT, if you, unlike me, can dye eggs successfully without altering the color scheme in your kitchen, I assure you that you are competent enough to make this bread. Making yeast bread does take a little bit of practice but I firmly believe it's a skill every person should learn. My grandma had all of us grandkids with our hands in the cinnamon roll dough as soon as we were out of diapers and I'm forever grateful. 

The two main "tricks" (if you can even call them that) I will impart to you are as follow:

1. Use fresh yeast. If you can't remember when you purchased the yeast resided in the back of your fridge, buy a couple new packets for this recipe, just to be safe. Nothing is more disappointing than putting forth the effort to make homemade bread only to have it not rise properly due to old yeast.

2. Finger test the temperature of your liquid. The beginning of nearly every yeast bread recipe involves dissolving yeast in some sort of warm liquid (usually water or milk). You want the liquid to be warm, NOT hot. For best results, dip your finger in the fluid (or run your finger under the water from the faucet) before you add the yeast. It should feel warmer than the room air around you but it should not feel hot enough to burn. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is too cold, it won't activate the yeast as desired.

Other than these two pointers, if you follow the recipe, you should do well here. This bread recipe is a show stopper and really doesn't take any special skills (unless of course braiding isn't already in your subset). The loaves expand significantly so make sure you form a braid that is slightly tighter than you want as it will grow in the rising and baking process. 

The egg wash brushed onto the bread at the end gives it a beautiful sheen and the impressive presentation makes it a great option to bring to a family gathering. And most importantly, it's mighty tasty too, slightly sweet yet savory all in the same bite. Be sure to check the bread about halfway through the baking process to make sure it isn't browning too quickly. Cover it with foil as needed to slow further coloring and then cool and serve.

Happy Easter!

PS - I just renewed my food worker card yesterday and feel obligated to make this PSA: the dyed egg is for looks only. Please abstain from eating it, unless of course your aim is to add a bout of food borne illness to your festivities. ;)

Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

(adapted from Saveur.com)

2 packets (4 ½ tsp) active dry yeast

2 cups warm milk

9-10 cups flour

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup water

8 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

5 eggs plus 1 lightly beaten

Salt

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 hard-boiled red-dyed eggs

2 tablespoon black cumin seeds

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and 1⁄2 cup of the sugar, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour. Stir 1⁄2 cup water into yeast mixture. Add butter and 5 of the eggs and mix thoroughly.

Add 8 cups of the flour, salt, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, orange and lemon zests to the mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead (adding more flour if necessary) until smooth, about 10 minutes, then form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and set aside to rise for 2 hours.

Return dough to floured surface. Divide into 6 parts, rolling into ropes about 15" long. For each loaf, tightly braid 3 ropes, then press 1 dyed egg near the end of each braid. Set the bread aside to rise again for 1 hour on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Brush bread with beaten egg, sprinkle with cumin seeds, and bake until golden, 40–50 minutes, checking after about 30 minutes for excess browning. If the loaves are darkening too quickly, loosely cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Makes 2 loaves

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I used to hate pumpkin pomp and circumstance. I never quite understood why everyone flipped out come October, rapidly clearing the shelves of their cans of pureed pumpkin. Did these people not know that the very same cans of pumpkin were available year round? In fact, there was about a 93% probability that the cans they were putting in their carts had been sitting there since the November prior, when everyone suddenly ditched pumpkin for candy canes. It boggled my mind for years.

But suddenly I became one of those people. I don't know what happened. Maybe it's just that I got old. I am now that crazy lady come Fall, filling my cart with the pureed orange stuff and making all sorts of creations throughout the week. For instance, on Saturday night, I made a pasta dish with sausage and pumpkin sauce. On Sunday I whipped up a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. And then, wouldn't you know it, I woke up this morning feeling a sudden "need" to make something pumpkin-y and so I made bread. There is just something magical about the months of October and November that just grant one the permission to add fun things like pumpkin this and pumpkin that to our repertoire.

The recipe has become a Fall regular in our house, since becoming a crazy pumpkin lady, of course. It's easy to throw together and seems to be my go-to for playdates. Kids and parents alike dig it, because, well, who doesn't like a bread with chocolate? The bread is moist and delicious, thanks for the combination of vanilla pudding and pumpkin. I get asked for the recipe almost every time so I figured my fellow pumpkin enthusiasts would thank me. (You're welcome).

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)


2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup vanilla pudding
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 2 loaves

Garlic Naan

 

When we moved in with my in-laws back in June, the agreement was that we would pay "rent" in the form of groceries and cooking and it has worked out quite well though it never ceases to amaze me how much food 7 mouths can put away!

I must confess that naan was not originally on the menu last night but I am a people-pleaser. I had South Indian Lentil Stew bubbling in the slow cooker when a last minute case of people-pleasing panic set in. Though we have lived here four months now, I have yet to determine the likes and dislikes of my mother and father-in-law but I did recall somewhere along the line learning that my father-in-law does not like Indian curries. Of course I didn't remember this little tidbit until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I was in the garage, covered in paint, three coats in to transforming my son's crib from espresso to white. My father-in-law is incredibly gracious and would never make it known if he didn't like what I served, but I wanted a peace offering, some sort of bargaining chip so he could walk away from the table feeling satisfied. despite my curried main dish. 

Usually yeast bread isn't the best "last-minute" menu addition (except in our house when we only seem to do yeast bread last minute...), but this dough was easy to throw together, even with the "helpful" hands of a 3 year old throwing flour everywhere. And the rise time provided me a prime opportunity to run back out to the garage to resume my painting.

My dough didn't really rise all that much (it certainly didn't double) but the naan turned out perfectly. So much so that the words "nailed it!" might have slipped out of my mouth after I took the first bite. It was soft yet chewy with just the right amount of garlic and enough butter to make it delicious. If you'll allow me to toot my own horn momentarily, I might venture to say it was restaurant quality even. YUM!

If you have 2 cast iron skillets, I would recommend using both to speed up the cooking process. You can adjust the heat as needed if you find your naan are getting too dark too fast but you do really want your pan good and hot to get them to cook right. They cook really fast so get ready to brush them with melted butter and flip them as soon as they begin to puff up. You'll get the hang of it as you go - I promise, it really isn't rocket science!

After all that worry, my father-in-law went back for seconds so I think it's safe to say the air is all clear over here. :) Make this at your next available opportunity and if you're looking for a delicious accompaniment, check back here soon for the Slow Cooker South Indian Lentil recipe.

 

Garlic Naan

 

1 package (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Olive oil

1/4 cup butter, melted

 

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Let stand about 10 minutes, until bubbly. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, garlic and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise. Let rise for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

 

Punch down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a large, greased baking sheet. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

 

Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle with oil. Roll one ball of dough at a time into a thin circle. Place dough in hot skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet to a plate and keep warm. Continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

 

Makes ~16 naan



Rosemary Flatbread with Blue Cheese, Grapes and Honey

I remember the first time we had this bread. It was about 4:30 PM and we were having dinner guests. I don't even recall what I was making other than that I was elbow deep in some sort of intricate prep work and that we were going to be lucky if anything was going to be ready to go on the table when the company arrived. Out of nowhere, my dear husband says "I want to make bread for tonight." Say what? "Like with yeast?" I said. "Uh huh," he replied.

Those of you who have ever made yeast bread from scratch know it usually isn't something done on a whim when guest are expected to arrive in 90 minutes. Except when you're Graham. And then rules don't apply and anything is possible. And I'll be darned, usually anything is possible with him and he somehow Pulls. It. Off. It drives me bonkers because logic (and I) tell him it can't happen and then he just makes it happen. And makes it look easy. So this guy, who had never made yeast bread in all his life, just whips this one up and it's perfect. Perfect. And hot and ready when our dinner guests arrive. Go figure! If you're new to bread baking and looking for a yeast bread recipe to break you in, apparently this one is it. It is so totally delicious and makes a great appetizer while you're scrambling to get the rest of dinner ready (but that never happens here...right....)

Rosemary Flatbread with Blue Cheese, Grapes and Honey
(From Food and Wine Magazine)

1 envelope (or 2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling

3/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound red grapes (1 ½ cups)

Coarse sea salt

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon snipped chives

In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, fine salt, pepper and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water; stir until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°. Place a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven, and preheat for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press and stretch the dough into a 13-inch round, then transfer to a lightly floured pizza peel. Press the grapes into the dough and sprinkle with sea salt.

Slide the flatbread onto the hot stone and bake for about 12 minutes, until the crust is golden and the grapes have begun to release some of their juices. Sprinkle the blue cheese on top and bake for about 2 minutes longer, until the cheese melts. Slide the flatbread onto a work surface and drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with the chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 1 (13-inch) flatbread