No-Knead Brioche Buns

We absolutely love Brioche Buns for our burgers during the summer. Unfortunately, they have been hard to find by us so I've been making them from scratch! These are definitely time consuming to make but so delicious! Definitely a keeper!

No-Knead Brioche Buns

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon table salt, divided

5 large eggs, room temperature, divided

1/2 cup (4 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon water, room temperature, divided

1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Whisk flour, yeast, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together in a large bowl. Whisk 4 eggs, 1/2 cup water, and sugar together in medium bowl until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in melted butter until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

Using greased bowl scraper (or rubber spatula), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising every 30 minutes, 3 more times. After fourth set of folds, cover bowl tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 16 hours or up to 48 hours.

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer dough to well-floured counter; stretch and roll into even 12 inch long. Cut log into 8 equal pieces (about 4 1/2 ounces each) and cover loosely with greased plastic. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining pieces covered), pat into 4 inch disk. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges of dough toward center until ball forms. Flip dough ball seam side down and, using your cupped hands, drag in small circles until dough feels taut and round and all seams are secured on underside of ball.

Arrange buns seam side down on prepared sheets, spaced evenly apart. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise until nearly doubled in size and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat remaining egg, remaining 1 tablespoon water, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt together in bowl. Gently brush buns with egg mixture and bake until golden brown, 16 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer buns to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour, before serving. (Cooled buns can be stored in zipper-lock bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. Wrapped in aluminum foil before being place din bag, buns can be frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat thawed, frozen buns, place them on rimmed baking sheet, still in foil, and bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.)

Caramel Apple Pie

I'm very very behind with posting recipes for the food that I've been making. Y'all, this summer has been hectic since we did another cross country move. I finally feel like I'm able to sit down and relax and be able to cook again. Anyways, I made this Caramel Apple Pie when we still lived in Houston and it was absolutely delicious. I'm planning on making it again during the Fall!

Caramel Apple Crumb Pie

(Source: Le Creuset Website)

For the pie crust

2 1/4 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

For the crumb topping

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed (I omitted)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I omitted)

For the caramel

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature

For the filling

5 cups peeled and chopped apples, mixture of tart and sweet

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the pie crust

Place all of the ingredients for the crust, except the water, in a bowl and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the freezer and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the butter is broken up and the mixture is a mealy texture. While pulsing, pour in the water one tablespoon at a time. Pulse just until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator onto a floured work surface. Roll into a circle just large enough to fit the pie dish. Fit it into the dish and crimp the edges. Return the crust to the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the crust from the freezer and line with a square of parchment paper large enough to hang over the edges. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. When the edges begin to turn slightly golden, remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Continue to bake 8-10 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the crumb topping

Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a fork. Slowly drizzle in the butter and mix until it becomes a crumbly texture. Set aside.

For the caramel

In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine water and sugar. Heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is boiling. Add the butter and continue to cook until it becomes golden brown. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat. Carefully pour in room temperature cream (it will sputter and bubble). Whisk until smooth and set aside. If it hardens, return to low heat and stir until smooth.

To assemble

Toss the chopped apples with sugar, flour and cinnamon. Spread a third of the apples in the bottom of the pie shell. Drizzle with a third of the caramel, then nestle the pie bird in the center of the pie. Add the next third of the apples and caramel. Finish with the last third of the apples and cover with the crumb topping. Reserve the last of the caramel for serving.

Bake 40-50 minutes at 375 F. Let cool at least one hour before serving. Serve with the remaining caramel drizzled on top.

Breakfast Hash

We are finally moved in and settled in our new place and I'm finally able to start cooking and spending time in the kitchen again! I decided to make breakfast hash for us yesterday and it was absolutely delicious!

Breakfast Hash

1 pound Jimmy Deans Breakfast sausage

1 (20 oz) package of shredded hash brown potatoes

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely 

Brown the onion in the skillet. Add diced red pepper, jalapeno, sliced mushrooms, and garlic cloves. Cook mixture until the vegetables are cooked through. Remove the mixture from the skillet and into a large bowl. Crumble the breakfast sausage in the hot skillet and cook until mixture is cooked through. Dump the sausage in the bowl with vegetables. Add the hash brown potatoes into the hot skillet and cook until the potatoes are brown. Add the cooked vegetables and sausage back into the hot skillet and mix with the hash browns. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.