Bread Week + A Cheesy Bun Recipe
The God of Bread wonders why all the loaves are under-proofed. And a controversial British ingredient invades a cheesy take on swirly buns.
Fun (and relevant) news:
I wrote a piece for Food & Wine about my time on the Great American Baking Show! I'm excited to share this behind-the-scenes peek and some nuggets that I learned about myself and about baking. A warm welcome to the new subscribers who read the piece and subscribed to this little newsletter!
Sarah, Nirali, and I are judging the Chicago Tribune's 37th annual Holiday Cookie Contest! Recipes must be submitted by tomorrow, Sunday, October 15th. Go here to submit your recipe,
Spoiler alert: If you haven't watched Bread Week, stop reading now!
Episode 3: Bread Week
Oh my goodness, everyone's shaking in their boots because it's Bread Week and Paul is the God of Bread. What a fantastic episode: classic, very British challenges and a ton of innuendo. What more do we want from the Baking Show?
Hot Takes
Not enough time. In all three of the challenges, so many of the bakers failed to properly proof their dough. Maybe give the bakers more time?! If the ingredients and the tent are cold (they are outside in Britain!), then everything will move slowly. Plus, braided loaves take even longer to proof than regular round loaves.
The innuendo on this signature challenge. Proportion of balls, plus the fingers in the loaves, oh my! They just doubled down on it, didn't they?
Devonshire splits sound delicious. They're essentially a less-enriched Maritozzi, which I'm more familiar with. Basically just fill a soft roll filled with cream and jam. Nothing wrong with that. I would love to see more regional British bakes like these on this show. (I just wish that some dairy in the United States would make double cream. I would run to my kitchen and whip up some Devonshire splits if I could get some fresh double cream.)
Favorite Bakes
Anytime someone makes a whole grain or a seeded loaf, I'm sold. That's what I want to eat. Otherwise it's just shoving some herbs, cheese, or other flavors inside a plain white loaf. Nothing wrong with that, but I like the flavor of hearty whole grains or crunchy seeds!
Tasha's Medusa. I'm a sucker for Medusa anyway, plus the hands over the eyes and the snake hair! A genius concept for this challenges.
Christy's challah and babka, although simple, looked absolutely perfect and delicious. She knows what she's doing.
Mrs. Doubtfire, I mean Nicky, and her Highland Cow! And her pronunciation of "horns." Legendary.
For Heaven's Sake
Give the bakers more time for bread challenges. Period.
Cinnamon (and some other spices), can slow or kill yeast. Many people have tested this fact, including scientists. I avoid adding cinnamon or too many ground spices to a dough, because it can stop it from rising at all. Cinnamon in a filling (e.g. cinnamon rolls) is ok, but adding it to your dough is a no-no for me.
It devastated me when Abbi left. She charmed us with her personality and intrigued us with her foraged flavors. Abbi is an outstanding baker, and she'll go on to great things. Abbi, we will miss you so much!
I wish we could watch Extra Slice.
On to the recipe!
I had a tough time deciding which traditional British bread to feature. From soft white baps, to teacakes, to Chelsea buns, to a cottage loaf, none of those were speaking to me to me. My sweet tooth has waned a bit and I wanted to create something savory that still felt British. Then I was reminded of a very polarizing, very British ingredient that I crave.
Cheddar and Marmite Buns
I wondered through my local grocery store this week, still confused about what to make for Bread Week, and I spotted it. Marmite. (It's odd but it makes sense that they keep the Marmite, a yeast extract, on the shelf next to the dry yeast.) Marmite is a strongly flavored, salty, sticky, umami-bomb of a condiment. Just a touch goes a long way.
When we were in the UK filming the Great American Baking Show, Sarah and I discovered these mini Marmite snack cheeses at Saintsbury's. So savory. So satisfying. In this recipe I try to recreate the flavors of those Marmite cheese snacks in a spiraled bun form.
Don't be scared of Marmite. It adds a savory backnote to these cheesy buns, which makes them extra mouthwatering. If you like miso, or mushrooms, parmesan cheese, or anything deeply savory, you may enjoy a touch of Marmite in your life. My lovely husband “doesn’t like” marmite, but inhaled these buns.
You simply combine a bit of Marmite and mustard powder to some butter, smear it onto the dough, then sprinkle on some cheese and chives. A little dry mustard powder adds a bit of extra flavor, but you can leave it out if you must. This is a small-batch recipe, which makes six buns, but it can easily be doubled.
Makes 6 buns.
Dough
240 g (2 cups) bread flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
15 g (1 Tablespoon) sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
100 g milk, room temperature
30 g (2 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the bread flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the egg, milk, and butter, to the flour mixture and fit the mixer with a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer up to medium-low (speed 2 on a KitchenAid) and knead for about 12-15 minutes. (This dough is somewhat sticky, so a machine is easiest.) You know it's done when it forms a smooth and shiny dough and the dough has mostly gathered onto the hook. Gather the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly-oiled bowl (or oiled mixer bowl) where it can double in size. Cover the bowl, and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours. Cold dough is much easier to roll out, plus the long,slow fermentation gives the bread better flavor.
Filling and Assembly
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Coleman's dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon Marmite
100 g shredded sharp cheddar
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Mix the butter, mustard powder, and Marmite together in a small bowl. Stir it enough so that it's soft and easily spreadable.
Lightly flour your work surface. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, lightly dust it with flour, and pat it into a flat square. Roll the dough out into a 12-inch by 16-inch rectangle, with the short side closest you. Dollop the butter mixture on the dough. Using a flexible spatula, spread the filling out evenly, leaving 1/2-inch strip at the top of the dough with no filling. Be careful not to tear the dough. Sprinkle the shredded cheese and the chopped chives evenly over the dough. Gently press the cheese and chives into the butter.
Use a wet finger to dampen the edge that doesn't have any filling (This helps the dough stick to itself after you roll.). Starting from the short side closest to you, roll the dough up. Take some dental floss make small indentations to mark where to cut the dough to make 6 equal buns. Slide the floss under the dough, loop it around, and pull it tight to cut the buns. (Using floss is the absolute best way to cut these cheese buns, or anything in the cinnamon-roll family. )
Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a one-eighth sheet pan and set the buns on it, evenly spaced. Let the buns proof until they are very puffy and touching, but not quite doubled in size. A little poke to the buns springs about halfway back. My kitchen was chilly, so it took about an hour, but check it at 30 minutes if you are somewhere warmer. Heat the oven to 375F.
Bake the buns at 375F for 23-28 minutes, until they're dark golden brown and register 200F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove them from the oven and gently slide them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper so that they don't "steam up." (I prefer these a bit crustier than a cinnamon roll.) Let the buns cool for at least 20 minutes before eating.
These are best the same, day, but you can warm them up in a low oven to freshen them up for day two. They’re perfect with some soup!
Happy Baking,
Martin