Vegetative Bodies

Vegetation may not be good on heart valves, but in buns, I think they sound extraordinarily good. If I were a piece of rising dough possessing a heart, I don't think I would mind getting Libman-Sacks endocarditis and covering my valves with a mixture of celery, carrots, mushrooms, ham and garlic.

After making Phenomenon's 1 Bowl 1 Hour Dinner Rolls for our weekly Regency Sunday dinner, I couldn't help but think of variations, of fillings, of making it sweet and perhaps chocolatey.

The base of these filled rolls is an amazingly easy yeasted bread. The amount of active yeast doesn't add a strong flavor but allows the rise to occur quickly and fast enough for a last minute addition to any meal when you're strapped for time and can't wait 2+ hours for the proper rise to occur. The filling is not overwhelming, a simple mix of sauteed veggies, pretty much anything you have on hand, although I think next time, a bit more garlic would make for an amazing filling.
1 Bowl 1 Hour Dinner Rolls with Veggie Filling

Dough
1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 degrees F - slightly warm to the touch out of the tap)
1 tbsp instant yeast
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (I used all purpose)

Filling
2 cups of any minced, sauteed vegetables you have on hand
I used (minced, finely):
A handful of baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
3 white button mushrooms
Cured Virginia ham
garlic, salt, pepper to taste

Topping
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp dry or fresh parsley
3 tbsp olive oilIn a measuring cup or small bowl, mix together warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for about 5-10 minutes until frothy.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and add yeast mixture and oil. Mix until combined. Then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and shiny. Form dough into a ball, placed in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. I preheated my oven to 200 degrees F, turned it off and let the dough rise in the warm oven.

While the dough is making its first rise, mince all of the vegetables and saute in a little oil until soft. Let cool until ready for filling. Also saute minced garlic, parsley, and oil and set aside to brush on top of the buns.When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and shape into an 8x12 rectangle. Cut into 24 pieces. I found it easier to separate each piece of dough as I cut it so that they wouldn't stick back together and become a giant ball again.

To form a bun, take one of the pieces of dough, flatten into a 3-4 inch circle, place a tablespoon of the filling in the center and pinch the sides together to seal the bun closed. Repeat until all 24 buns are formed.Lightly oiling a 9x13 pan, place the buns in rows of 4x6 to rise a second time. Drizzle garlic/oil/parsley over the top of the buns. While they rise for another 20 min or until doubled in size, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 400 F (I baked them for 13 minutes, then again, it's naturally hot in the Caribbean without the addition of an oven).Devour when ready. =D

Monkeying Around

Pictures of gram negative bacilli oddly bring to mind rich, buttery, cinnamon sugar covered balls of dough. Granted, the first thing to pop into my head when I first started taking notes on Fusobacterium necrophorum was necrophiliacs... however, what with medical pathophysiology being compared to food, I only thought it would be a good idea to post up something sweet, like ketone breath, and buttery, like the pools of liquid adipose (perhaps I shan't go one), and yeasty.

At the end of last semester as one of my first forays into the world of yeast and breads, I came across Smitten Kitchen's monkey bread recipe. It looked gorgeous, covered in melted butter and sugar and cinnamon, like a giant cinnamon roll without the effort and I couldn't resist. It was gone in less than an hour, took much longer, but the time to make the bread was worth every second, every minute and every harrowing hour of rising.

Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Dough
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, divided (2 tablespoons softened for the pan, 2 tablespoons melted for the dough)
1 cup milk, warm (around 110 degrees)
1/3 cup water, warm (also around 110 degrees)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise, instant or bread machine yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt

Brown Sugar Coating
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick or 4 ounces), melted

Cream Cheese Glaze
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 brick of cream cheese)
2 cups powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
1/4 cup milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make dough: In a large measuring cup, mix together warm water, 1 tbsp sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to make sure the yeast is alive and producing gas.

Mix flour, rest of the 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the flour, then add yeast mixture, milk and melted butter to well. Using wooden spoon, stir until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. Shape into taut ball and proceed as directed.

Coat large bowl with a tablespoon of oil (like canola). Place dough in bowl and roll around in oil to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until dough doubles in size (about an hour)

To prepare the bundt pan - coat in the 2 tbsp of softened butter.

Make brown sugar coating: Place melted butter in one bowl. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a second one.

Form the bread: Flip dough out onto floured surface and gently pat into an 8-inch square. Cut dough into 64 pieces.

Roll each piece of dough into ball. Working one at a time with a fork, dip balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into bowl. Roll in brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in Bundt pan, staggering seams as you build layers.

Place pan in warm oven until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes.

Bake bread: Take pan out of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until top is deep brown and caramel might begin to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out on platter.

Make glaze: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add milk and a cup of powdered sugar. Mix until smooth, adding more powdered sugar to taste and until desired consistency is reached. Add vanilla at the end and incorporate.

Drizzle the glaze over warm monkey bread, letting it run over top and sides of bread. Serve warm.