Pistachio Morning Buns Food

BA'S BEST MORNING BUNS

Steps:

• Dough:
• Whisk yeast, 1 cup warm milk, and 1 tsp. honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment to combine, then let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add egg whites, 2 cups bread flour, and remaining 1/4 cup honey and beat with paddle on medium-high speed until mixture is very light and thick, about 3 minutes. Remove paddle, scrape mixture back into bottom of bowl, and sprinkle whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups bread flour over top (do not stir). Place bowl in a warm spot and let sit uncovered until mixture is bubbling up around flour, 30-40 minutes.
• Add salt, orange zest (if using), vanilla extract, 5 egg yolks, and remaining 1/4 cup cold milk to mixture and mix with dough hook on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Increase speed to medium and work dough until it is smooth, soft, and elastic and climbing up the hook, 8-10 minutes (it will clear the sides of the bowl but still stick slightly to the bottom; if after 5 minutes the dough is still very sticky, add bread flour a tablespoonful at a time until dough is just tacky). Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and add butter pieces one at a time, letting dough absorb butter completely before adding the next piece. This part takes a while, so be patient. Dough should be very smooth and slightly tacky and have a soft, buoyant texture. Cover and chill at least 8 hours and up to 16 hours.
• Filling and assembly:
• Cook brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, 1/4 cup honey, and 8 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool.
• Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, place 1 piece back into bowl, cover, and chill while you work. Roll out remaining piece of dough on a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper to roughly a 16x12" rectangle. Spread half of brown sugar mixture over dough. Starting at side closest to you (make sure it's a long side) and using the parchment paper to help you, roll dough into a tight log. If dough gets too warm or sticky to work with, slide (with parchment) onto a baking sheet and chill until firm, then proceed. Place log, seam side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Chill until firm, 20-30 minutes.
• Repeat process with second half of dough and remaining brown sugar mixture. Spray cups of two 12-cup muffin pans with nonstick spray. Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Trim chilled dough logs about 1/2" from ends and cut each on a slight diagonal into 12 equal pieces. Place, cut side up, in prepared muffin pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature until puffed and expanded to edges of muffin cups (dough will spring back when poked but hold a slight indentation), 25-35 minutes.
• Bake buns, rotating pans once left to right and front to back, until golden brown all over, 20-25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining 4 Tbsp. butter and remaining 1/4 cup honey in a small saucepan over low, stirring a bit, until smooth. Remove from heat.
• Pull buns out of oven and brush tops with butter mixture; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Transfer buns to a wire rack (if sugar cools in pan, it will harden and buns will stick); let cool.

PISTACHIO, ROSE AND STRAWBERRY BUNS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Place butter, yeast, egg, sugar and milk in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or a large bowl if working by hand. Mixing on low speed or stirring with a wooden spoon, add flour and salt. If mixture looks dry, drizzle in another tablespoon or so of milk. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes in mixer, or 5 to 6 minutes by hand, until you get a soft but not sticky dough. Don't worry if you still have some whole flecks of butter running through the dough; they will make your final bun quite light. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 12.
• Make the pistachio cream: Put pistachios in a food processor and blitz until they resemble bread crumbs, then add butter, sugar, egg and flour and pulse until they are well combined to form a paste. Set aside. Cream can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in refrigerator.
• Lightly butter 8 cups of a muffin tin. Remove dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 16- by 8-inch rectangle. Work with as little flour as possible so as not to dry out dough. Use a sharp knife or pizza slicer to cut eight 4- by 4-inch squares. Lift each square into a cup in the muffin tin and push all the way down. Allow excess dough to hang over sides. Divide pistachio cream among cups, then top each with a teaspoon of strawberry jam. Fold corners over lightly to cover filling, but don't push them down. Set aside in a warm place and let them rise for 40 minutes to 1 hour; the buns' folds should rise considerably.
• Place a clean, empty baking sheet in the center of the oven, and heat it to 400 degrees. When buns are done rising, place muffin tin on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn sheet front to back, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes.
• While the buns bake, make the syrup: In a small pot, bring 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, the sugar and the honey to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in rose water.
• Remove buns from oven and brush generously with syrup; you don't have to use it all. Let cool slightly in the tin before removing and serving.

PISTACHIO MORNING BUNS

Steps:

• Toast the pistachios: Arrange an oven rack in the center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter the pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, shaking once, until they're golden brown and nutty smelling, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Very finely chop the pistachios or crush them beneath a heavy pot, and set aside.
• Make the filling: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, lemon zest, cardamom and salt, and mix with your fingertips, rubbing in the lemon zest until the mixture is fragrant and well combined. Set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture for sprinkling over the baked buns, then combine the remaining sugar mixture with the chopped pistachios and set aside.
• Combine 1/2 cup butter and the honey in a small saucepan, and warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the mixture is combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Prepare the pans: Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of room temperature butter, then set the pan aside.
• Roll out the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place on the work surface. Use the heel of your hand to knock out the gas and deflate the risen dough, which will be quite firm. Dust underneath and on top of the dough with a bit of flour, then roll it out into a rectangle measuring about 22 inches long, 12 inches wide, and a scant 1/4 inch thick, dusting with more flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Try to work quickly to prevent the dough from warming, which will make it harder to slice the buns.
• Fill and form the buns: Dust off any excess flour, then brush the entire surface of the dough with all but 3 tablespoons of the honey butter mixture. (Reserve the remaining honey butter mixture for brushing over the baked buns.) Sprinkle the pistachio mixture evenly across the surface, pressing it gently into the dough so it adheres. Starting at one of the longer sides, roll the dough into a tight log. If the dough seems very soft, slide the log onto a baking sheet and chill until firm enough to slice, 10 to 15 minutes. Use a serrated knife to slice off the ends of the log, then cut it crosswise into three even sections. Cut each section into five even pieces, so you have 15 total. Arrange each piece cut side up in the prepared baking dish, forming a 3-by-5 grid.
• Proof the buns: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the buns are all touching, very puffed, and about doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, arrange an oven rack in the center position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake the buns: Uncover the pan and transfer the buns to the oven. Bake, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes, until the buns are golden brown all over, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with the reserved honey butter. Sprinkle the reserved sugar mixture evenly over top, then let the buns cool completely in the pan.
• Serve: Use a small serrated knife to cut between the buns and all around the pan, then lift them out one at a time.

CRANBERRY-PISTACHIO STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Sprinkle pistachios, cranberries and cinnamon in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Arrange rolls in a single layer on top., In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Remove from the heat; stir in the brown sugar, pudding mix, milk and extract until smooth. Pour over dough. Cover and refrigerate overnight. , Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. (Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.) Cool 1 minute before inverting onto a serving platter.

PISTACHIO BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Using a stand mixer that has both a whisk and a dough hook attachment, whisk 2 of the eggs.
• Remove the whisk and attach the dough hook, then add the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and the remaining eggs to the bowl. Mix slowly for 5 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix until the dough is uniform and stretchy. Add the butter, a little at a time, scraping down the sides every now and again until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a floured bowl, then cover and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
• Before removing the dough from the fridge, blitz 80g of the pistachios with the remaining sugar, the vanilla and brandy in a food processor until a paste forms-this will take about 5 minutes. Scrape into a bowl. Roughly chop the rest of the pistachios.
• While the dough is cold, roll it out on a floured surface to a rough 35cm x 40cm rectangle. Trim the edges of the pastry so that the edges are even. Dip a pastry brush into a bowl of water and use it to brush each edge. Spread the pistachio paste over the bottom half of the rectangle and scatter the chopped pistachios over the paste. Lift the top half of the pastry over the pistachio paste to meet the bottom edge and form a thin rectangle. Roll gently to seal and return to the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 4 pieces, roughly 9cm x 7cm. Make a 1cm incision in the centre of each piece and pull the pastry either side of the incision in opposite directions to meet the nearest end and to show an S shape of pistachio on the top of each piece of dough. Place each shaped piece of dough in a greased individual loaf tin and brush the top of each one with egg yolk.
• Bake in an oven heated to 400°F/200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6 for 15 minutes, until risen and golden. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.

CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO WHILIGIG BUNS

Steps:

• To prepare the dough, heat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine 5 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
• In a small saucepan, combine 7 1/2 tablespoons butter and the milk, and place over low heat until lukewarm.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs lightly, and then whisk in milk mixture.
• Stir the liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.
• Using a mixer with a dough hook, or by hand, knead dough until smooth and springy, adding more flour if necessary.
• Form into a ball, and place in an oiled bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.
• Punch down dough.
• Line a 13-by-10-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-third of the dough, and place in pan.
• Roll out remaining dough to a rectangle about 20 by 10 inches.
• To make filling, mix together the butter and sugar to make a paste.
• Spread paste evenly over large rectangle of dough.
• Chop pistachios until splintery, and sprinkle evenly over dough.
• Top with chocolate chips.
• Starting from longest side, carefully roll up dough so it looks like a long sausage.
• Cut dough into 20 slices, each 3/8 inch thick, and arrange with a cut side up on top of dough in pan.
• Brush buns with beaten egg, and let them sit in a warm place until puffed up and snugly filling pan, about 15 minutes.
• Bake until buns are risen and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from baking pan to cool on a rack.
• Serve warm.
• Makes 20 buns.