French Sesame Buns

Homemade French Buns

We love homemade buns and this recipe is actually my upgraded version of the hamburger bun recipe I posted back in 2010. Now it is quicker to make so many different variations of bread, rolls, buns, flatbreads, pizza crusts and breadsticks since I've been playing around with my French Baguette recipe. Virtually every time I end up with the softest and fluffiest breads. It is nearly impossible to mess this up.  

I have experimented using different flours, grains, seeds, herbs and oils all year. I've made this recipe into different shapes and sizes as well. The sesame is our favorite I think for sandwiches. Try loading this up with your favorite fresh picked garden produce and it is really a winner. I love sliced avacado, heirloom tomatoes and crispy garden grown greens. Add some thinly sliced red onion and hopefully some of your own canned sliced pickles and there you go! 

These buns are bursting with delicious sesame flavor!

Makes Eight Nice Big Buns

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly oil a nice big jelly roll pan or baking sheet.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup warm tap water

2 tbsp. of active dry yeast

2 tbsp. raw organic pure can sugar

3 1/2 cup unbleached organic flour (my fav is Hodgson Mill) All purpose Natural White

A good pinch of kosher salt

A drizzle of pure sesame seed oil (about a teaspoon) more or less to taste

Sesame Seeds

a couple tbsp. of milk

Directions

In your warm mixing bowl, add the water, yeast and sugar. Lightly stir with a wire whisk just until it is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic and then cover over it with a heavy towel. Set your timer for 20 minutes. Your starter will be nice and frothy.

Next add the flour, salt and oil. Mix this with your dough hook until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Pat the dough with your hands just to form a ball and place it it a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough ball around in the bowl so it is lightly coated by the oil. Place the same plastic over the bowl and the towel and turn your timer on for 20 minutes to let it rise. 

Next dump the dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into eight pieces. Take each piece and shape it into a ball first by patting it and then press it out into a nice round flat shape. Place each piece onto your lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with just the towel. Turn your timer on for 20 minutes to let it rise. 

After the timer goes off, lightly brush the tops of each bun with milk. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and very lightly pat them on the top to ensure they stick well.

Place them in your hot oven and turn the timer on for 15 minutes. When they are done take them off the pan right away and onto a wire rack to cool.

When your ready to make your yummy sandwich just simply slice them or eat them warm just by themselves! 

Happy Gardening and Happy Bread Making!

Pammy

 

Double Berry Upside Down Cake

Upside Down Strawberry and Blueberry Yogurt Cake

After a couple of months of the low to no sugar diets around here, I found myself having a yearning for it as the strawberries began streaming into the kitchen from the garden. I call this my breakdown cake, but no one else would have really understood that title for this cake but me.

I decided that some blueberries I had in the freezer should be put to use and go for a double berry topping. I can see that if I had used straight strawberries I could have cut the sugar for the topping way back since the strawberries are so sweet and the blueberries not so much. Actually any of your favorite fruits could be used and when the next breakdown occurs I will probably go for some of those blackberries that are forming in the garden along with more strawberries. Garnish this cake with some fresh sprigs of your favorite mint from the garden and you will be good to go.

The flour used in any recipe makes a tremendous difference in the results. I recently changed flours again in my pursuit of the best. I shop not for just the best results in my homemade baked goods, but for healthier alternatives. It is important to me that my family eats healthy, but it is also important that I support companies that find the health of our environment to be just as important.

After more research on flours I ran across an article written on Mother Earth News magazine about Hodgson Mill. I really like what I read and it sparked me because I remember seeing this flour in our market and hadn't tried it. All I can say is I really like how it has worked for both my breads and my cakes and I feel good about supporting such a company with our hard earned dollars.

Mr. Fancy Pants

Use a 9X13 baking dish or two round cake pans and lightly butter the insides. Preheat oven to 325.

Topping

1/2 cup unsalted organic butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 to 3 cups of sliced strawberries (or mix of berries)

1 cup crushed walnuts

Mix all the topping ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat and stir until it just begins to bubble. Pour mixture into your baking dish or cake pans.

Cake

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour

1/3 cup organic white/wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup raw pure cane sugar

1/2 cup butter softened

2 large eggs

3/4 cup Greek God Yogurt (plain)

1/2 cup organic coconut milk

3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Whisk all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine all of the wet ingredients mixing until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on medium low speed until nice and creamy. The mixture is a little thick, but this is good. Pour batter on top of the berry mixture. Spread it carefully until somewhat even. Bake at 325 for approximately 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick until it comes out clean.

Let the cake cool. I used the 9X13 baking dish and cut the cake down the middle side to side. I then gently lifted one half of the cake out of the pan and turned it over onto a cake plate. Take the other half out and do the same thing and place it on top of your other half for a double berry upside down cake.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Spring Fling Garden Hat Competition

Three French Hens Designs

Get those Garden Hats ready to join in on the fun! Beginning on April 8 at 7:00am until May 6 at 9:00pm the contest begins. 

Here are the rules.

1. Create, design and decorate your own Garden Hat Enter this contest by attending this event.

2. Take a photo of you in your hat and post it on our Facebook Page Label your photo in one of the following categories as listed in #3 (Pictures may be posted Beginning on April 8th at 7:00 a.m.)

3. There are 4 different categories. Funniest Hat, Most Outrageous Hat, Most Glamorous Hat and Prettiest Hat. Label your entry photo in one of these categories (Only one hat and one photo per contestant)

4. All fans will vote by clicking the LIKE BUTTON on the contestant of their choice. (Only one vote per photo, but you may vote on as many different entries as you like)

5. There is a prize for the winner in each of the 4 categories. Entries will be limited to the U.S. and Canada Only.

Be sure to visit this Link to enter the Event : Spring Fling Garden Hat Contest

Prizes are donated by Thyme Square Gardens, Three French Hens a Giftin, Morning Glory Craft Cottage, Behind the Fence and The King And I Creations. Photos of prizes will be posted periodically during the contest.

Here is a sneek peek at a few of the Prizes 

 

 Garden Stake Whimsie From Behind The Fence

Necklace By The King and I Creations

Wall Hanging By Morning Glory Craft Cottage

Thyme Square Gardens to be shown very soon! Just think Heirloom and Herbs!

Happy Gardening!

Pammy