Breads, Rolls + Donuts

Flaky Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers

puff pastry apple turnovers on parchment

I am a big fan of anything apple in the Fall months, and while I love something elaborate like my Apple Morning Buns and Apple Pull-Apart Bread, a flaky apple turnover might be number one on my list of favorites. This recipe does involve a few steps, but it comes together easily. The turnovers can also be assembled ahead of time and frozen for up to two weeks, which comes in handy for crisp Autumn Sunday mornings. Storebought vs. Homemade Puff Pastry: I prefer to use my homemade Rough Puff Pastry for these turnovers; the dough is rich and flaky, and I always have some ready to go in my freezer. However, you can make these with store-bought puff pastry and they will still turn out well. If you are going to use store-bought puff pastry, use a brand that uses butter instead of oil if possible. The Apple Turnover Filling The filling here is based it on the Apple Flip recipe from my cookbook, 100 Morning Treats. I spend a few minutes cooking the apples until they are just tender, creating a quick “pie filling” which insures that the turnovers will have perfectly cooked apples in their centers. I […]

The post Flaky Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Flaky Homemade Croissant Twists

I love my Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough and use it for many applications (including these Apple Morning Buns), but I have to say that these fried Croissant Twists are insanely good, and may be my new favorite thing to make with it. Frying anything is not my favorite past time, but the process was worth it. These twists are simple to form (especially if you have some croissant dough already made and stashed in your freezer), and the fry up rich, flaky and light. I loved them with a simple glaze, which added some sweetness and kept the middles tender. Each bite reminded me of a cross between a croissant and an old-fashioned doughnut, which is a perfect mash-up in my mind. I am imaging a rhubarb-glazed version as soon as my stalks are ready to pick. Important Tips for Making This Recipe Make sure your kitchen isn’t too hot! This will affect how your dough rolls out. The yeast will began to release gas as the dough warms up, so a cool environment is important. If at any point your butter begins to melt or your dough begins to warm and stick to your work space, you can move the […]

The post Flaky Homemade Croissant Twists appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Homemade Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Both of my children have cold weather birthdays, one in the later days of Autumn, and the other very close to Christmas. While in their early years they begged for chocolate cakes covered in sprinkles, middle school brought on new requests for birthday celebrating, in the form of either Maple Oatmeal Scones or Pillowy Soft Cinnamon Rolls (that are also a reader favorite). But as our family has grown, both with more people and also in size (growing teenagers + grocery shopping = wow), we have discovered that one pan of cinnamon rolls doesn’t cover everyone equally. At our family birthday gatherings, my little nieces eat a couple bites of that giant roll and move on to something else, while uncles and grandpas can eat three giant cinnamon rolls with no problem. Why You’ll Love Mini Cinnamon Rolls So mini cinnamon rolls have now entered the picture. Thirty-six small buns all tucked into a pan, their tender base baking into each other to create pillow-like dough, and their cinnamon centers expanding into beautiful golden-brown spirals. Little ones can grab one and be satisfied, and growing teenagers and grandparents can sneak back and take seconds and thirds with plenty to spare. […]

The post Homemade Mini Cinnamon Rolls appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread

pull apart bread with caramel sauce on parchment paper

A lot of you have been making my Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread, so I decided to come up with a pumpkin flavored one since we have now moved into November. I use a Pumpkin Caramel recipe from my book, 100 Morning Treats, which is incredible paired with the fluffy, soft bread that’s also fun to eat, pulling apart each delicious slice. The sugar filling for the dough has cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg giving it warm flavor throughout. Easy Pumpkin Caramel This caramel topping for the pull-apart bread is easy to make, and there is no thermometer involved! Most of the ingredients are combined together and cooked on the stovetop, including the pumpkin (which is in the caramel, not the dough). I think this caramel tastes best with a nice splash of bourbon, but if you don’t want to use alcohol you can omit it. How To Make Pull-Apart Bread: Although this bread is a little time consuming to make, it is always worth the effort. What can I do to make this recipe ahead? For overnight Pull-Apart bread: Assemble the pull-apart bread in the Pullman pan, but do not let it rise at room temperature. Cover the pan loosely with […]

The post Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Apple Morning Buns

These buns are (of course) inspired by the famous morning buns created at Tartine. On my only visit to San Francisco, I was able to try one of these perfect buns – orange and cinnamon and sugar and butter all wrapped up in flaky dough. I’ve tried to re-create something similar; in my book 100 Morning Treats, I have the classic version of this bun using my Cheater Croissant Dough. Here I have an apple version, perfect for both chilly Autumn mornings and afternoons. One thing to note: The recipe for the Morning Buns in 100 Morning Treats has a typo in it (but the same recipe in Baking For the Holidays does not). The recipe calls for 1 cup [200 g] of granulated sugar, which is correct, but the sugar needs to be divided. The filling for the Morning Buns uses 1/2 cup [100 g], not the 1 cup stated, and the remaining 1/2 cup [100 g] is used to toss the warm buns in. I am so sorry for the mistake! Baking with Apples Apples take a long time to break down during baking, so often I like to give them a head start. I found steaming the […]

The post Apple Morning Buns appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough

Of all the recipes I’ve developed between my cookbooks, working in bakeries, and this website, this Cheater Croissant Dough might be the one I spent the longest working on. It is one of my favorite recipes, as it gives everyone the chance to make and experience the magic of flaky, delicate croissants and so many other treats in a simplified, easier technique. It wasn’t until I read Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery that I accepted that home croissants were never going to be perfectly on par with bakery ones. He writes: “Croissant dough is the most difficult of the enriched doughs to get right…[y]ou can never master it completely. Every time you attempt it, it’s new. The temperature of your kitchen, the humidity in the air, the absorbency of the flour, the activity of the yeast – all these factors affect the dough.” When I understood that this professional pastry chef who had made thousands of croissants could never master the croissant, I knew I had to take a different approach for my own kitchen. I wanted a dough that mimicked the flaky, butter layers of a croissant, but gave a little more space to imperfection. This dough is inspired by many different recipes, […]

The post Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.