Piece of life
22 pounds of apples ! We were not missing apples at home after our traditional apple-picking. But in barely 1 month we have finished our entire stock, I can’t believe it. I didn’t even make applesauce this year. The kids love apples so much, they ask for some in their lunch box every day. I guess I’ll have to let them pick more apples next year, as I had limited them for fear of wasting them. So we like apples plain, in compote, in pies or cakes… but I wanted to try a new recipe. Of course I follow a lot of cooking websites and when I saw a recipe for apple and caramel buns on the BBC Good food it was just an evidence. A brioche recipe, that was missing on the blog, right ? So it’s with this nice recipe that I finished our stock of apples [and a bit sadly actually].
About the apple caramel buns
We are at a very high level of greediness here. A soft brioche, a greedy filling with candied apples and a little caramel on top. It’s just happiness in the mouth.
As usual the recipe is simple, but as with all brioche recipes it requires time to grow and therefore waiting time.
For kneading use the hook of the food processor. If you don’t have one you can knead by hand, it will just be longer and more tiring, but then consider it as workout !
I use fresh yeast [you must already know my preference on the matter] but you can of course replace it with dry baker’s yeast, as in the original recipe.
How much dry yeast to replace fresh one ?
You can replace the fresh yeast by about 1/3 of its weight in dry yeast. So for 20 g of fresh yeast count 7 g of dry yeast, which is usually equivalent to one packet. For example the packets of dry yeast I have from Fleischmann’s weigh 8 grams.
I made the buns in snails shape but you can change. What I like about this shape is that you can easily cut out the parts and the visual is always impressive. The only more delicate point is the cutting of the rolled dough to form the buns, the filling might escape a bit when you cut it, don’t overload it to avoid it to drip everywhere. But at worst it’s delicious to lick it on your fingers 😉
Tips
I tested freezing and it works out perfectly. Separate your snails, place them on a plate and put them in the freezer. Once frozen you can transfer them to another container. Ideally freeze the buns fresh from the day, once cooled down. Before serving, reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave or for about 10 minutes in the oven. It will still be delicious.
Apple & caramel buns
Équipements
Ingredients
For the dough (the day before)
- 500 g flour
- 320 ml milk
- 50 g butter cut in dice
- 20 g fresh yeast (or 7 g dry yeast)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the apple filling
- 3 apples
- 1 know of butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp water
For the cinnamon butter
- 75 g softened butter
- 75 g sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
For the caramel (optional)
- 100 g sugar
- 80 g heavy cream warm
- 30 g butter cold, cut in dice
Instructions
For the dough (the day before)
- Warm the milk in a saucepan. Add the butter and let it melt.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer put the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast, crumbled, and the milk/butter mixture. Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is homogeneous and don't stick to the sides.
- Film the bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day take out the dough (which will have doubled in volume) and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes. In the meantime prepare the apples.
For the apple filling
- Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes.
- Cook the apples with the butter, sugar and water for 10 minutes until cooked. Set aside.
For the cinnamon butter
- Mix the softened butter with the sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
To finalize
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper, or grease it.
- On a floured surface, spread the dough in 1 rectangle.
- Spread the butter/cinnamon over the entire surface.
- Spread the apples.
- Starting from the longest side, roll the dough.
- Cut 12 pieces of identical size (this is where the filling can escape).
- Place the snails in the baking dish, face upwards, leaving a space between them (as they will rise).
- Cover with a clean cloth and let them rest for 1 to 1.5 hours. The buns will rise.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Bake the buns for 35 to 40 minutes.
For the caramel (optional)
- Make a dry caramel. Heat a saucepan. Add the sugar in 3 times, waiting for the previous portion to melt and caramelize. Be careful not to burn your caramel.
- Add the warm cream by small fraction, while mixing. Beware of splashes !
- Then add the cold butter. Mix until it is melted. Finish by mixing with the hand blender. Reserve at room temperature.
- Pour caramel on top of the buns once they are cooked.
