Hello everyone—

I received The Cake Bible for Christmas and have been reading it almost like a novel.  I am excited about the recipes and see the book as the next step in my development as a domestic goddess! 

I decided to start with the sticky buns recipe.  I started last night and threw it away when the dough didn’t look right and I realized that I’d need to stay up to 1 am to get it ready to ripen.  I’ll try again today but I have two problems/questions that I hope someone can help with.  Thanks in advance!

1.  While making the brioche for the buns, step two (kneading the dough) says that the dough will be smooth, shiny, and will “clean the bowl.”  The dough I got was shiny and smooth but was very sticky and most certainly did not clean the bowl and become one mass.  I’m using bread flour and following the directions very meticulously.  Any thoughts about what I did wrong and how to fix it so it cleans the bowl when I do this a second time? 

2.  If my math is correct (and I was an English major so it might not be), this recipe requires 5-6 hours before I even get to the overnight ripening.  I have another sticky buns recipe that requires approximately 30 minutes in assembly and uses a stand mixer instead of the food processor, thus avoiding another real problem I had last night with the sticky dough leaking underneath my dough blade into the mechanism, causing problems with my FP.  This alternative recipe goes right to the overnight ripening without so many steps.  I’m willing to do the extra work but my question is…is it worth it?  I know you can’t comment on the specific alternative recipe I mention but, in your experience, is this amount of effort worth it?

Thanks for helping a newbie!
Teresa

Hi Teresa,

Yes, overnight rise in the refrigerator is worth it. Yeast produces different by-products of fermentation, depending on the temperature. So, a long, slow rise in a cool refrigerator is going to give you a different-tasting bread than one that rises quickly at a warm room temperature. I prefer the taste of a cool-rise bread. In fact, I almost always budget in extra time for all my yeast-based recipes so they have the chance to rise in the fridge.

Regarding your first question, sometimes it is necessary to add a little extra flour (by the tablespoon) if the dough is too sticky. Flour itself can absorb water from the air if the environment is humid, and this can throw off the water-to-flour ratio in the recipe if you are measuring your ingredients as opposed to weighing them. So, you have to be willing to be flexible when working with yeast doughs and be willing to either add more flour (to make a less sticky dough) or more water (when the dough is too dry).

Did you weigh your ingredients or did you use measuring cups? I recommend you weigh everything. It will make the whole process a lot easier and more exact.

One more thought. The way I test for the proper consistency of this kind of dough is to turn off the machine and quickly press my fingers against the mass of dough surrounding the dough hook. If my fingers stick, the dough needs more flour. If my fingers do not stick, the dough is ready for the next step, even if part of the dough mass is still clinging to the bottom of the bowl. 

Good luck! Brioche is wonderful.

Thanks Christine!  I did use measuring cups but I have a scale so I can try that for sure.  I also appreciate the tip about pressing the dough.

Also thanks for your thoughts on the different types of yeast breads.  The “alternative recipe” I mentioned is also a cool rise bread (I think) as you assemble the dough and it goes right in the fridge to rise overnight, without the two or three extra steps (multiple warm rises?) found in The Cake Bible recipe.  However, the amount of butter you put into the brioche recipe from the book makes me think it is going to be fabulous when I try it!  I’m sure I’ll enjoy comparing the two.  Thanks again!

I recommend you follow Rose’s recipe for the brioche exactly. I haven’t made it in awhile, but I know it needs to be chilled at some point so that the butter doesn’t leak out of the dough. Her recipe yields a delicious result, and it is worth every extra step involved.

When I make Rose’s brioche, I normally make it over three days. 

Day 1- in the evening, make the sponge/blanket, allow to get puffy, then pop in fridge overnight.

Day 2- in the morning, soften butter, mix/knead dough in the KA stand mixer, first rise, chill, stir down, chill overnight (may need to stir down an additional time). 

Day 3- shape dough (into sticky buns, in your case) and allow second (final) rise, bake.

My dough doesn’t normally “clean the bowl”, though it will be easier to work with if it does.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out!