Month: September 2024

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PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA BUNS: Snack Or Lunch!

Every now and then I challenge myself to improve on a just-okay recipe. In this case, it was my grandmother’s peanut butter buns (she called them ‘josh’, which means ‘snack’ in Armenian). While they were a big hit with her five children and my husband, I felt they were a little dry.

I decided the problem was two-fold: the dry dough and the dry peanut butter filling. Creating an enriched dough seemed the obvious answer to the dough. As for the filling, I considered using a jelly. Then I spied some ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. Hmmm! (Elvis came to mind.) Recalling a contestant on the British Bake Off cooking down bananas to evaporate excess moisture, this seemed like a good idea to prevent a mushy filling while, simultaneously, adding flavor. To give a nod to the classic jelly idea, I tried crushing freeze dried strawberries. The problem was I needed to use a lot to really taste them. As they’re very expensive, I chose to go with the peanut butter and banana on its own. You can add them, if you like.

NOTE: You can substitute a different nut butter, if you prefer.

PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA BUNS – makes 6

Dough

  • 121g (1/2 cup) milk, warmed to about 40°C (104°F)
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 229g (1.75 cups) bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 28g (2 T) butter, room temperature
  • 40g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 egg white

Filling

  • 3 large ripe bananas
  • 118 (1/2 cup) peanut butter (or other nut butter)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Optional: 31g (1 oz) freeze dried fruit, crushed

Prepare the dough:

Proof the yeast by stirring the warmed milk and yeast together, letting it set about 5 minutes.

Into the workbowl of your food processor, put the flour, 1 tsp salt, sugar, softened butter, egg white, and proved yeast/milk. Process about 40 seconds, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.

Empty dough onto lightly floured counter and knead about 6 times to bring dough into a ball. A bench scraper works well for this task.

Place dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, then flip the ball so both sides are coated with oil. Cover and let rise 1.5 hours on counter.

While dough is rising, prepare the filling:

Into a saucepan, place the peeled bananas. Mash with a potato masher or fork.

Over medium/high heat, cook the bananas, stirring often, until most of the water has been cooked out – about 11 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in the peanut butter and 1/4 tsp salt. (If you’re using freeze dried fruit, stir it into the mixture) Chill until dough has finished rising.

Once the dough has risen, assemble the buns:

Empty the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a 9″x 4″ (23cm x 10cm) strip.

Divide the peanut butter-banana filling evenly between the strips. Spread the filling over the dough strip, leaving a 1/2″ (1cm) border along all 4 sides. The filling will be spread very thinly – this is good – it’s how you’ll get that lovely swirl.

Roll each strip from the short side up along the long side. Pinch the dough to seal the seam.

Roll the log towards you 90°, so the seam is facing you. (This is so the seam will be protected from bursting open during baking.)

Pinch both ends to seal them. Then, snail the log by rolling it sideways. (The seam formed along the length of the log will now be encased in the snail.) Pinch closed the end of the log to the body of the roll.

Place the rolled buns on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly press down each bun so they’re about 1″ (2.5cm). Cover and let rise 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) during the rise.

Once the buns have risen, place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. Decrease the temperature to 177°C (350°F) and bake about 20 minutes – until browned on top. (There is NO wash for these buns – I’ve tried egg, milk, and cornstarch/water – they cause the top to flake. They come out much better with a dry top.) Remove baked buns to a wire rack to cool.

NOTE: If you forgot to decrease the oven temperature, it’s not a problem. Just keep an eye on the brownness – you may have to decrease the bake time.

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GRANDMA PESTO PIZZA: Tweaking Tradition!

Grandma Pizza is a thin, crispy, rectangular pizza that, traditionally, is topped with Mozzarella, followed by marinara and basil.

But, just to shake things up (because that’s how I roll!), I decided to change the toppings to pesto, Feta, and Kalamata olives. This has become our family’s current pizza of choice. The garlicky pesto topped with salty, creamy Feta and olives is addictive, which is why I now make 2 pizzas at a time.

NOTE 1: I highly recommend using a food processor to make the dough. Grandma Pizza is a very wet dough and clings to your palms and fingers if you knead by hand.

NOTE 2: A rimmed baking sheet is preferred to define the rectangular shape but, if you don’t have one, just use a large baking sheet and shape the dough as best you can. As you can see from the photo above, dough seems to have a mind of its own, and occasionally refuses to fill in the corners anyway.

GRANDMA PESTO PIZZA – makes 2 pizzas

Dough:

  • 332g (1.5 cups) water, about 104°F (40°C)
  • 4 tsp (12g) yeast
  • 20g (2 T) olive oil
  • 385g (3 cups) strong (bread) flour
  • 8g (2 tsp) sugar
  • 1.5 tsp salt

Topping:

  • 130g (4 cups) (9 oz) fresh basil leaves
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 22g (1 T) lemon juice
  • 88g (1 cup) Pecorino/Romano or Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 44g (1/2 cup) pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 114g (2/3 cup) olive oil
  • Feta cheese
  • Kalamata olives

About 3 hours before serving time, make the dough:

Combine the warm water and yeast in a cup. Let prove for 5 minutes.

Into the work bowl of the food processor, add olive oil, flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to blend. When yeast has proved for 5 minutes, run the processor and slowly pour in the yeast water. Run the machine about 40 seconds total, stopping to scrape down the sides once.

Now comes the icky part. Remove the blade and scrape off the dough. You’ll notice how stretchy and sticky the dough is.

Empty the dough onto a well floured surface. Using a bench scraper underneath the dough, begin kneading 6 or 7 times to bring the dough together, sprinkling with flour as needed. Cut the dough in half.

Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in each of the two pans. (Don’t be tempted to use more olive oil – it will be difficult to stretch the dough on a slippery surface.) With your fingertips, spread the oil around the pan. Plop one dough half in each pan, flipping them over to cover both sides with a bit of oil. With your slightly oiled fingertips, work the dough to stretch it out to about 20cm x 13cm (8″ x 5″). Don’t worry about it being exact. Cover pans and let rise about 1.5 hours.

While dough is rising (or, ahead of time), prepare the pesto:

Into a blender put all the ingredients (basil, garlic, lemon juice, Pecorino/Romano, pine nuts, salt, and olive oil).

Due to the basil leaves, you’re going to have to blend in spurts, scraping down sides in between. DO NOT PRESS DOWN INGREDIENTS WHILE BLENDER IS RUNNING UNLESS YOU HAVE A BLENDER (SUCH AS A VITAMIX) THAT HAS A TAMPER SPECIFIC FOR YOUR BLENDER! I speak from experience – more than once I’ve thought I could control a wooden spoon to press the basil down without hitting the blades. I was wrong and had to thrown the whole batch out.

After dough has risen, use your fingertips to stretch the dough to cover the pan. You can pull gently on the corners to help it along. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. PREHEAT OVEN TO 260°C (500°F).

Top risen pizzas with your preferred amount of pesto, crumbled Feta, and Kalamata olives.

Bake in bottom third of preheated 260°C (500°F) oven until crust is browned – about 13-15 minutes.