Orange Bread and Butter Horns

... the yeast begins to bubble in the bowl ...

Mary reported that at work her friend Tom asked her, "Does your mother like making bread?"

I had to think about that.

No.

I don't like making bread.

I would rather be reading. But what is a person to do if they arrive somewhere and the hosts have already bought two 10 kilogram bags of flour and a one pound package of yeast in anticipation of the warm smells that will come out of the oven when bread it made?

As well, Naomi has been looking forward to cinnamon buns.  And tonight when the Grade 7 girl next door came through the house, she asked for the recipe, "for the butter horns and for the cinnamon buns", she said, at which time her mouth went into a wide smile and her eyes sparkled.

If only I had known, she would have been by my side, learning how to roll them this week.

... orange icing read to be applied to the orange buns ...

To mix up the tasks so there wouldn't be so much boredom for me, a remembered that Fay Pitcher used to make delicious orange buns, so I began to zest the oranges in the house before allowing anyone to have one.

Draconian to others?

Yes.

But I wanted to see how that would taste in the a tradition rolled bun ... with orange icing on it.

Leo, Mary and I went wild.

The kids turned up their noses. Since my purpose here is not to make Leo and Mary happy, I have returned to making cinnamon buns. Oh, I did acquiesce to Mary's pleas for some butter horns tonight, but all that shows is that I have my own moments of weakness, due in part to the fact that I leave tomorrow.

One last time to fill the house with the aroma of fresh bread.

Arta

PS.  I didn't really use the following recipe.  But I did read it over before I began to make the Orange Buns, so I think that counts as using it.  But beware, for I was not as meticulous in my method as the writer below feels the need to be.

Orange Sticky Buns

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water (for dough)
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (for dough)
• 1/3 cup sugar (for dough)
• 3/4 cup milk (for dough)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tbsp for greasing (for dough)
• 3 large egg yolks (for dough)
• 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest (for dough)
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (for dough)
• 4 cups Gold Medal unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (for dough)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (for filling)
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (for filling)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (for filling)
• zest from half an orange (for filling)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (for topping)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (for topping)
• 3 tbsp honey (for topping)
• 2 tbsp orange juice (for topping)
• 1/2 tsp orange zest (for topping)
• 1/2 cup pecan halves (for topping)

Directions

1.    In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Whisk to combine and let sit 5 minutes, or until yeast mixture is foamy.

2.    Add to it milk, butter, remaining sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix on low speed with paddle attachment until just combined.

3.    Switch paddle attachment with dough hook and increase speed slightly, add the remaining 1 cup flour in increments. Once all flour has been added, increase speed to medium and knead about 5 minutes, or until dough is slightly sticky, smooth and elastic (add a little bit more flour if it’s really tacky until it’s at the right consistency).

4.    Remove dough from bowl and place in a large lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours.

5.    Once dough has risen, punch down and place on a lightly floured counter top and let rise 20 minutes.

6.    In the meantime, make the filling — combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Melt butter and keep separate.

7.    Roll out dough into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle with orange zest. Starting from the long side, roll up dough into a tight cylinder. Place seam side-down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into 15 equal slices.

8.    Make the topping — in a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, honey, orange juice and orange zest over low heat. Stir until butter and sugar are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and sprinkle pecan halves on top.

9.    Place dough slices flat side-down on top of prepared topping, crowding them so they touch. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight to rise.

10. In the morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F — remove buns from the refrigerator and let stand on counter top while oven preheats.

11. Bake buns until golden brown, about 30 minutes; immediately invert pan onto a baking sheet or serving tray. Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.