This is for my fellow neighbor and friend, Marcey’s Table Marcey’s Table Marcey I am amazed how you do this posting everyday! Go girl!
Tonight, I am forcing myself to type, as if I had my pencil in hand, and post my traditional Christmas Sticky Bun recipe. The photos were taken several months ago, there’s that organized and be prepared girl in me.
The whole bread thing takes about 4 hours from start to finish. So, in case anyone else wants to give this a try, it is really easy! “Can’t go wrong with flour, sugar, butter and yeast” as my husband Ron tells me all the time. By the way, he is the one who taught me how to bake when we started this life journey 34 years ago. Follow the pictures, 1, 2, 3…
Yep, this is the recipe I wrote down years ago. I pull it out and use it every time. (PS: on the paper you will see 1/4 cup of sugar instead of the 1/2. This is for the French Bread)
These are the ingredients for you to see “visually”.
You can use regular flour. My husband is the one who does most of the food shopping, and being an electrical engineer is very detailed, (I have learned to live with it, and he does the shopping) so that is why the specific “bread” flour. No worries, just pick a flour.
I start by running hot water in the big bowl. I then empty the water, and add fairly warm to hot to touch 2 cups of water into the bowl. Then I add the 1/4 cup of yeast, or if you are using the little packets – 3 packets. It is ok to use a little more. Not going to hurt a thing. No stress bread remember.
Then I take a metal hand whip or fork and mix the yeast up. It will begin to foam. Remember, the yeast is the “living’ item that bring “life” to the bread. So respect it by not trying to add everything all at once. You don’t want to “drown the miller” as we say in our house. The “miller” is the guy who ground the flour at the mill.
So now you have your yeast mixing, foaming up, begin to add 1 Tablespoon of sugar to the yeast; 2 Tablespoons of salt. Next, begin to put one of the two eggs in at a time. And then add the 1/2 cup sugar. (Yes, this in addition to the 1 tablespoon you added when you started. That tablespoon helped the living yeast to get started or wake up. Kinda like a cup of coffee with sugar in the morning)
Mixing, mixing, now begin add the flour. As you are adding the flour, to the yeast mixture and flour starts to get drier, begin to add the prepared ahead or (opps, make it quick) 1 quart or 4 cups of warm milk with the stick of butter melted. I use the microwave for this. If you don’t have 4 cups of milk, use 2 milk, 2 water. Remember, no stress bread. The milk makes it heavier and richer. Water will make it dry like french bread.
Ok, you are almost there…adding, adding. I switched to a wooden spoon for mixing. Once you have all the ingredients added, it is now time to turn the bread mixture out on the CLEAN counter or large “bread” cutting board.
Here comes your work out for the day. Start kneading the dough. If the day is clear and dry, it is pretty easy. If the day is rainy, and moist, it may take an extra bit of flour on the surface so it will not stick. Kneading, kneading, the dough feels good to touch. Not to dry, not to moist. Remember, No stress bread...you can’t go wrong…when you think you have it..remember it’s living, so do not over knead…
Now here comes the fun…put the dough in a large clean buttered bowl. I would wash the bowl you mixed the bread in, and butter it so the bread doesn’t stick while it rises.
Place on the warm 200 degrees stove, and cover. (I like to warm my kitchen up a bit when baking on a cold day. The dough rises faster in a warm kitchen than a cold kitchen) You can even use an older pillow case if you are not prepared for covering bread. They use to use the flour sacks before fancy cooking stores and such.
While the bread is rising, takes about 30 to 40 minutes. I clean up my mess and prepare the “sticky” for the “sticky” buns.
One stick of butter, about one cup of brown sugar, one cup of Karo or white syrup. I don’t measure. Melt the butter, stirring, add the brown sugar (dark or light), melting, then add the Karo. Done! Butter and dust the pie pans. (see in the back there) Then while the mixture is hot, I pour evenly in the pans. Can be any shape pan if you don’t have round. Your family won’t care…these are too good to care.
I like to place the pecan upside down, because when you turn the stickies out of the pan, they will be right side up.
Once the bread has risen, (see photo up above) start by breaking off nice size piece and roll it out on the CLEAN counter top. Smooth some brown sugar on it, then dust with cinnamon, add raisins and pecans. My family likes the “white” raisins. You can use dark, you can use cranberries, anything your heart desires or your cupboards has in dry fruit. No stress.
Roll the dough up, starting at one end and then cut into 1″ to 1- 1/2″ pieces. I use a board to cut on so I don’t cut my counter. Place pieces, usually try to get 6 to 7 in a pan. They are going to rise quickly again and fill the pan.
Place them on the warm stove to rise the second time and cover. You can see, I have made some rolls and that is a loaf of bread in the rectangular pan. You cannot go wrong with what pan you use.
You are almost done..remember, I said starting out, it takes about 4 hours from start to completely clean up, and take a nap.
I let the bread begin to rise again, then I turn the oven up to 400 degrees. Once the bread is the height I like to see, it’s time to bake for 20 minutes. The brown sugar and Karo, as the stickies bake in the oven, is going to bubble up around the sides of the pan. I have learned the hard way, to put an old, as flat as I can find, cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch any overflow. This way you won’t have to deal with smoking sugar on the bottom of the oven. (I learned the hard way of course!)
When the stickies are done, 18 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees, pull out of oven and turn IMMEDIATELY on to a plate or prepared, double layer, covered with tin foil paper plates. If you don’t turn them over IMMEDIATELY you WILL NOT GET THEM OUT OF A COOL PAN!!
Now you family will begin to rush to the kitchen as the fragrance fills the air.
Accolades will begin, and the children who have been hiding out in their rooms will flock to your side and wonder at the beauty of what is appearing before their eyes!
My family and I enjoy these for our Christmas morning snack as we open our gifts. There is always enough to send one to your favorite neighbor or loved one for their Christmas morning too. I hope you have enjoyed, this no prepare, no stress blog on our Traditional Christmas Sticky Buns. God Bless and Merry Christmas from our house to yours! denise & family
“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” Deuteronomy 28:5
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