Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Friends are coming over to sing....

Tuesday November 20, 2012

Singing..... the Doukhobor people are known for their acapella singing.  We grew up to song, prayers are read and also sung during our prayer meetings.  My ancestors sang when they worked outside, sang when working in the garden.  Special songs are sung at a Doukhobor Wedding as well as a funeral each has meaning and a special message.     I spent growing up years surrounded by this beautiful sound, in our Highschool we had a Russian Choir as an after school activity and from grade 9-12 you can participate in this group (one did not have to be a Doukhobor or speak Russian to belong)  I translated the songs phonetically for a few of my friends so that they can sing with the choir.  Our choir travelled to many cities to perform, we even opened the Victoria Parliament one year with our performance, we also have a  vinyl record done (this brings back a lot of memories) and even travelled to Spokane WA to participate in their Expo......so singing  is in my bones, in my heart.

May you hear the marvelous music
singing in your soul every moment
lauding the exquisite gift of being alive.



Our  informal singing group came together over a chat around a tea cup and  we call ourselves the 'Strong & Wrong' we are strong and we sometimes are wrong, go off key, but we laugh, we cry, and we most of all we have fun and after a year we harmonize beautifully!  So in their honour I thought I would bake up a little something sweet for our 'tea break' ....it's windy and a bit wet so  Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns and Raspberry Buns came to mind.  This is what I have created for my ' choir of friends'.


 
 
 
Here are the ingredients you will need to begin...
 

The milk has been scalded and cooled to warm,  butter and
sugar has been stirred in.

This is the yeast and the flour, I sometime use 'Bread Machine'
 yeast and mix it right into the dry ingredients (your choice to use either Traditional or Bread Machine)

The dough has been kneaded and is ready to rise
until doubled.

The butter and sugar have been melted and are a smooth
consistency, keep whisking until the butter around the edges
mixes into the sugar.

 The pan is ready and waiting for the dough.
 
The dough is ready to rise for 1 hour.

Here you see the ingredients for  Ooey Gooey Bun filling.

 Here are the ingredients for the Raspberry Bun filling.
I usually use fresh or frozen berries but today I found a
jar of my Mom's rasberry jam so decided to play with this.
I just used the same amout of 'berries/jam' but added 1/4 cup
of water (to dilute the sweetness) and continued on with the method.

The raspberry filling is cooled and ready to be spread.
I will sprinkle this filling with shredded coconut to change
it up sometimes.

The dough has risen and can now be rolled out.

 The rolled out dough sprinkled with the cinnamon/nut filling.

Cut the rolled, stuffed dough into about 15 pieces.
brush the tops with the remaining butter.

The raspberry filling is spread and ready to be rolled.

Freshly baked buns just out of the oven.
Let the cinnamon/nut cool 3 minutes and then turn
onto a tray or pan.


 
Voila, now which one shall I sample?  One has to do
a quality assurance test......the joys of baking.....I love it!
 
 
 

Ooey Gooey Pecan Cinnamon Buns

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour (approximate)

Filling:
1/4 - 1/2 cup  brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans  (toasted & chopped fine)

 Ooey Gooey Sauce
3/4  cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar

Method:

Dissolve 1 tsp of sugar in warm water, sprinkle in yeast       .  Let stand 10 minutes.
 Meanwhile in a small saucepan, heat milk,  remaining sugar, butter and salt until butter
 has melted, let cool to lukewarm.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk and yeast mixtures.
Using mixer gradually beat in 1 1.2 cups flour, beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. 
With wooden spoon, gradually stir in enough flour to make soft, slightly sticky dough that comes away from the side of the bowl.  On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for 7-10 minutes
 or until it is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning to grease all over, cover with plastic wrap  an let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until double. Punch down dough. 
 Meanwhile in a saucepan over medium heat, melt 3/4 cup of the butter with 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, whisking until smooth.  Pour into greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle with  half of the pecans, set aside.  Melt remaining butter, set aside.  Combine remaining sugar, pecans and cinnamon, set aside.
On lightly floured surface roll out dough into 18 x 14 inch rectangle.  Brush with all but 2 T butter, sprinkle with sugar mixture.  Starting at long side, roll up,  pinching at seam to seal.   Cut into 15 pieces.  Place cut side down in pan. Brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double.
Bake in 375 oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until crests are golden and tops sound hollow when tapped.  Let stand in pan for 3 minutes.  Invert onto serving platter - I use a tray and place it over top of the pan and then with pot holders flip the whole  pan over onto the tray.  Scrape off remaining 'sauce'...
Enjoy!


Raspberry Buns

  Use the same method as above  with the following filling:

fresh or frozen raspberries - just make sure you have
11/2 cups of juice and fruit altogether
Mash the berries and add 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp almond flavoring
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch
Place mashed berries with juice in a saucepan, add sugar and cornstarch
bring to a boil  on medium heat and stir until thickened (add more cornstarch if needed) and cook
2-3 minutes more.
Remove from heat and stir in almond flavoring.
Cool.
Spread this filling over rolled out dough and carefully roll up and cut.
Any filling that runs out save and spread over top of buns in pan before  baking.
Bake as above.
Have fun.....enjoy.

.....Gathering with others can help you tap into a powerful collective energy. When individuals come together, the energy each person brings to the assemblage is pooled. This shared energy is then available to all who have gathered. Collective energy is more potent than the energy of a single individual, and a group can often generate more ideas. Making use of the knowledge, enthusiasm, vision, and abilities of everyone involved, each member of the group ends up contributing in the ways that they are most capable. Tapping into this collective energy helps you utilize this combined strength. When you gather in the collective spirit , the strength of your companions will bolster you

1 comment:

  1. I vote for oooy gooey cinomen bun!!!!!! Awesome, these are a lot of work!

    ReplyDelete