I started out well enough with this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection. Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen had picked Pecan Honey Sticky Buns from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, and I was stoked because I love sticky buns. I was so excited about the project that I even started making it early, and that is a big deal because I'm a HUGE procrastinator.
I set out on this adventure on Friday morning by putting together the dough. It took a while and used up a lot of butter, but the dough came together beautifully. After the dough was finished, I went through the long wait. Man, is there a lot of waiting time when making dough! First, I had to wait for an hour while the dough rose at room temperature. Then I moved it to the refrigerator, where I had to slap down the dough every 30 minutes for at least 2 hours until the dough stopped rising. I was a little pressed for time because I had a rendez-vous with my friends in the afternoon, but I managed to allow the dough enough time to fully rise.
The dough chilled overnight, and I formed the buns late on Saturday. The dough was wet and sticky, but it wasn't too hard to work with. Since everyone in my family is trying to eat healthier, I decided to omit the 1/4 cup of white sugar from the filling; this omission might have contributed to my downfall.
I woke up early on Monday morning to set out the rolled buns so that they could rise one last time for at least 1 hour and 45 minutes. I mixed together the glaze and poured that on top of the buns. I then sprinkled some pecans over everything. I later found out that this is opposite of Dorie's instructions, but I think it worked.
The buns baked for 30 minutes in the oven, and they looked so yummy when they came out of the oven. I had to snap a picture right away, but the lighting was poor. Plus, I couldn't focus the camera. I planned to take a proper picture later, but I lost the will to do so after taking one bite of my rolls. All I could taste was salt!!!! For a while, I thought it was because I hadn't added the white sugar to the filling. However, my parents have a habit of buying salted butter when they do the grocery shopping because it's slightly cheaper. I looked at the box of the butter, and sure enough, it was salted. The salted butter might have been the main cause of the horrid taste, but it didn't help that I had cut back on the sugar content of the recipe. Lesson learned this week: check the butter before proceeding!
I'm not sure what I'll be doing with the rest of the dough. I wanted to throw it out, but my mom didn't want it to go to waste and said that she'll eat it. We'll see. I'll leave it in the freezer for a month or so, and then it's going out.
Terribly sorry for the poor quality of the picture. I'll be baking something today for my mom's birthday, and I will hopefully do better. In the meantime, if you want to try out this recipe for yourself, head over to Madam Chow's Kitchen for the details. Good luck!
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Welcome! My name is Cecilia, and I'm a graduate student just trying to cope with the stress of school by adding a bit of sweetness into her days.
I'm a novice in the culinary arts, so this blog is like a notebook where I keep track of my progress as I become acquainted with the kitchen. Hopefully, my adventures will inspire you to do the same with your own kitchen.
more about me and sucre
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Sad! I don't even buy salted butter any more...
Such a shame yours were too salty. I added a sprinkle of Maldon and it was lovely.
Sorry that they didn't turn out! They look great anyways...
Well, they look wonderful! My mother also likes to stockpile salted butter in my fridge when she visits. I don't have the heart to tell her I only buy unsalted so I have to find creative ways to use it up. Better luck next time!
I'm sorry after all that work that they didn't turn out. They look lovely, though!
That's too bad, I really hope you try them again with unsalted butter, these buns are worth it!
The pic looks great even if they are too salty. I won't even let salted butter into my house just in case of this kind of accident.
Sorry you weren't happy with the results but they look fantastic!
I buy both kinds of butter and always have to pay attention too. Sorry they didn't work out! They are worth the effort though, so I hope you try again!
That's too bad! But they look lovely, anyway!
Bummer city. Stinkin salted butter. Well, better luck with your next baking endeavor!
Poor girl, in Germany you have to seek for salted butter, the sell only unsalted.
What a pity...
Ulrike from Küchenlatein
Crap that sucks. At least they look good;) Sorry!
Sorry this happened - I had a major goof last week with the madeleines.
I didn't think of that...I had an issue too...although I have to say I used margarine *gasp* instead of butter. I didn't think it would make too much of a difference, but the bread did not taste good.
Oh what a bummer! I used salted butter but mine came out fine - and I am very sensitive to too much salt! All I could taste was sugar!!
Oh no! I hate when that happens. The pictures look fabulous though so I am sure it wasn't the baker's fault. ;)
Clara @ I♥food4thought
Those look so wonderful! Well done!
SOrry to hear about the bun fiasco. Thats a bummer but hey do look good.
I'm sorry to hear about the salted butter fiasco. What a bummer, as the buns look beautiful!
You really have to try them again with unsalted butter, it's so good!
Your buns look deceptively delicious, so at least you know that you got the production process right, now to try it all again without salted butter.
Maybe you could make something savory with that remaining dough? Like an herbed cheese filling, and roll them up like the sticky buns? Just an idea. I keep my salted butter in one place in the fridge, and my unsalted butter FAR away. Just to be safe.
Sorry to learn about the salt, but they did look great.
oh no, sorry to hear about the unsalted butter! too bad, because they still came out looking great.
I had to toss out something yesterday, because I'd accidentally added salted butter. Blech! We will soooooo never make that mistake again. ;)
Many recipes you would never have noticed, but with three sticks of butter is does become a bit of an issue! Sorry you had such a disappointment after so much work.
That's too bad :-( I've recently gotten into the habit of only buying unsalted butter, but I never knew if it really made any difference until now. But the buns do look delicious, so I'm sure if you tried it again everything would come out well!
i'm sorry your sticky buns didn't turn out well - i used salted butter (always do) and had no issues at all w/the saltiness so it may have been b/c you omitted the sugar. i wonder if putting the glaze on top while baking (instead of upside down), if it would cause the glaze to burn a little?
you'll have to try this recipe again, it was amazing!
well, at least you know you CAN make them! It was a lot of work, and I too am a procratinator - so maybe between the two of us we could produce a timely Sticky Bun!
(oh, and thank for the "genius" comment about letting the dough rise in my car - I always have to do this- that's why I can only make breads in the summer!)
Well, I guess the dough wasn't a total waste after all. Throughout the day, I kept on nibbling on these salty buns. In morning, I felt like vomiting after a bite, but as the day progressed, the buns grew on me. The brioche dough had a nice texture, reminiscent of croissants.
I will definitely try this recipe again without the salted butter. In the meantime, I think I'll take Jayne's advice and make some savory treats with the remainder of the dough. Thanks, Jayne!
Thank you all for the wonderfully kind comments!
OH...so sad! Make them again with unsalted. They won't disappoint you, I promise! I accidentally used salted butter one time for a meringue buttercream...it was horrible. I feel your pain!
Aw man! That sucks and has so happened to me before. Try again someday!
oooohh so sad about the salted rolls!!!! maybe you can use it to make a loaf of salty bread to supplement something else ??
i have 2 sticks of salted someone gave me (she never uses it either) and its been in there for like 2 months. however unsalted, can't buy it fast enough!