Diabetic friendly hot cross buns?
I am going to start a batch of Hot Cross Buns for tomorrow night Shall I do the Diabetic sugarless fruitless crossless no white flour version? Or should I do a fairly standard recipe with white flour and sugar. Decisions, Decisions.
I started the Diabetic friendly version last night. I am doing this the easy way with dried milk powder made especially for bakers. This can be added with the flour, regular milk or even reconstituted regular milk powder has be to scalded before adding to the dough. There is an enzyme in milk which retards the gluten development and needs to be inactivated before use.
ooops. I stupidly put normal nonfat noninstant dried milk into the dough instead of the special Baker's dried milk. I consulted experts at King Arthur Flour and was told that the dough might rise a little slower.
Here is the recipe I wrote after I did this last year. The recipe owes its inspiration to Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread but the weirdness is all mine. This made 24 rolls, 3 biscuit pans with 8 rolls apiece. They had a surprising amount of oven spring. This year's recipe had a little more flour in the sponge and the potato flakes added in the dough section. I had to add more flour to the recipe.
Medium picture showing interior
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/skeptic7_photos/P4020022.jpg
Here is the recipe from last year's version. This is a nearly abstract art version of a hot cross bun.
Whole Wheat Sugarless Fruitless Hot Cross Buns
This was developed for a friend with diabetes, who needed to avoid all sugar even that in dried fruit. This contains no candied orange or lemon peel, dried lemon and orange peel is ground up and added to the spice mixture. There is no cross on top.
This recipe has been adapted from the Hot Cross Bun recipe in The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book on page 256-258. The general method used is the soaker/biga developed in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, with especial attention to the cinnamon rolls on page 136-139
I think Peter Reinhart's soaker/biga is a little too dry and hard to handle. Mine has more moisture.
Ingredients
Sponge
2 cups King Arthur regular whole wheat flour ( sift before measuring )
1 cup milk ( scald before measuring, milk should be heated to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit )
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup potato flakes
Soaker
3 cups King Arthur regular whole wheat flour ( always sift before measuring )
1 cup milk ( scalded before measuring and allowed to cool to room temperature )
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt.
Dough
2 eggs
1 cup King Arthur regular whole wheat flour or the rest of flour, there should be 6 cups total
1/2 cup butter
Spices
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon each ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, white pepper
2 teaspoons dried orange peel
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1. Making the sponge. Mix the two cups flour, and the 1/2 cup potato flakes in a small bowl. Dissolve the 1 teaspoon yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water. Let the milk cool to lukewarm and then add it to the flour/potato flake mixture. Stir the milk into the flour until most of the lumps are dissolved.
Look at the yeast mixture. The yeast should be totally dissolved and the liquid should be producing small bubbles. If it does not bubble there is something wrong. Either the yeast is dead, or the water was too hot or too cold. The water should feel warm to the touch, but not hot enough to be painful. About 105 degrees Fahrenheit according to some recipes. I use active dry yeast, the other varieties might behave differently. If the yeast mixture does not show signs of life, make another yeast mixture with the correct temperature water or with different yeast.
Mix the yeast into the rest of the dough. This should produce a thick batter. If it is too liquid, some more flour can be added to the sponge. Cover the bowl and let it sit at least until the batter is full of air holes and the yeast is obviously growing. This is probably 2 hours. The sponge can be refrigerated overnight
2. Making the soaker. Mix the salt and the three cups of flour together in a small bowl. Stir in the milk and then the water. If necessary add a little more water. This should be a fairly thick batter but all the flour should be moistened. The soaker allows the wheat bran to soak up liquid and soften, and the rest of the flour undergoes an enzymatic process that produces some sugar from the starch. There needs to be enough liquid available that the flour can absorb the maximum amount. The salt prevents spoilage and this is a good time. Cover the bowl and let sit until the sponge is done. The soaker should rest for at least an hour. The sponge and the soaker should have about the same consistency.
3. Mixing the dough. In a medium size or large bowl, beat the two eggs thoroughly. Mix in the sponge and the soaker. Keep mixing until everything is thoroughly homogenized. I cut the sponge and soaker into chunks with a plastic scraper, stir together, cut into chunks again and stir some more. Keep on blending the soaker and sponge and eggs together into one thick batter. Add the rest of the flour to the batter and stir together until thoroughly combined. Add a little more water if necessary. Knead lightly with your hands if necessary. Stop once all the ingredients are combined, but don't stop until all the flour is mixed in. Horrible little lumps can develop from dry pockets of flour. Once all the ingredients are combined, then put in a bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. During this time the flour absorbs the water in a process called hydration. This resting period makes it easier to knead, and allows the bran in the fresh flour to soften so that the sharp edges of the bran does not tear the gluten strands. Note take the butter out of the refrigerator at this point. It will be easier to knead if its at room temperature or at least not hard.
4. Kneading the dough. Knead the dough and then knead it some more. I knead the dough on my largest cutting board or a plastic sheet for rolling out pie crusts. Knead until all the dough is homogenized with no dry or wet patches and the dough is bouncy when hit and tends to stick together. Try pulling the dough slowly apart to form a window pane. This is one of the indications that the gluten is sufficiently developed. If you get tired of kneading, then wash and oil the mixing bowl and put the dough back in the bowl, wait 15 minutes or so and then knead some more. The rest allows the dough to relax and the yeast to produce more bubbles expanding and strengthening the gluten. I am following the philosophy in Laurel's Kitchen Bread book of kneading well to have a strong fine grain bread which will rise well. The trendy no/little kneading school is for wetter artisan breads not an egg milk butter loaded bread. Once the dough has been kneaded enough place it in the clean mixing bowl and let rest.
5. Mixing the spices. I use a electric coffee mill to grind spices. I have one mill which does coffee and sweet spice, and another mill for chili peppers. Put the lemon and orange peel in the coffee mill and grind until everything is fine particles. Mix the ground citrus peels and the cinnamon, cardamon, white pepper, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Put this in a small container and set aside.
6. Kneading in the butter. If the butter is still hard, cut into small pieces and then rub a couple of tablespoons onto the kneading board. If the butter is at room temperature, rub a couple of tablespoons onto the cutting board. Turn the dough out onto the cutting board and knead until the butter is incorporated in the dough. Repeat the process until there is only a tablespoon of butter left. Smear the remaining butter onto the cutting board, and pat the dough which should be soft into a large rectangle. Spread half the spice mixture on the dough. Fold the dough into thirds and then pat into another rectangle. Spread the rest of the spice mixture on the dough and roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Knead the dough until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The spices should be well blended in too, but if it isn't don't worry about it.
The spices are added last since they interfere with the gluten development.
Put the dough into the bowl and let it rise until light but not double. Don't let it sit too long, a whole wheat dough has a tendency to overferment. If you are pressed for time, only let it sit 15 minutes or so to relax the gluten and make it easier to handle.
7. Shaping the dough. Divide the dough into 32 pieces and form into balls. Place this in a half sheet pan 12x18 and let rise until light and fluffy. In cold temperatures this takes overnight. I place my sheet pan in a dedicated underthe bed storage container and let it rise there. If pressed for time, place pans of warm water under the sheet pan.
8. Baking. Check the oven for stray pans and other objects -- don't ask why this is in the directions. Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 15-20 minutes until brown.
Bibliography:
Sher, Gail From A Baker's Kitchen, Harris Publishing Company Inc; Berkeley, Ca 94710; 1984
Reinhart, Peter Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads 10 Speed Press; Berkeley, Ca 94707 2007
Robertson,Laurel; Flinders, Carol; and Bronwen, Godfrey The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book Random House; New York 1984
Sands, Brinna King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook Countryman Press; Woodstock, Vermont 1992
I started the Diabetic friendly version last night. I am doing this the easy way with dried milk powder made especially for bakers. This can be added with the flour, regular milk or even reconstituted regular milk powder has be to scalded before adding to the dough. There is an enzyme in milk which retards the gluten development and needs to be inactivated before use.
ooops. I stupidly put normal nonfat noninstant dried milk into the dough instead of the special Baker's dried milk. I consulted experts at King Arthur Flour and was told that the dough might rise a little slower.
Here is the recipe I wrote after I did this last year. The recipe owes its inspiration to Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread but the weirdness is all mine. This made 24 rolls, 3 biscuit pans with 8 rolls apiece. They had a surprising amount of oven spring. This year's recipe had a little more flour in the sponge and the potato flakes added in the dough section. I had to add more flour to the recipe.
Medium picture showing interior
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/skeptic7_photos/P4020022.jpg
Here is the recipe from last year's version. This is a nearly abstract art version of a hot cross bun.
Whole Wheat Sugarless Fruitless Hot Cross Buns
This was developed for a friend with diabetes, who needed to avoid all sugar even that in dried fruit. This contains no candied orange or lemon peel, dried lemon and orange peel is ground up and added to the spice mixture. There is no cross on top.
This recipe has been adapted from the Hot Cross Bun recipe in The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book on page 256-258. The general method used is the soaker/biga developed in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, with especial attention to the cinnamon rolls on page 136-139
I think Peter Reinhart's soaker/biga is a little too dry and hard to handle. Mine has more moisture.
Ingredients
Sponge
2 cups King Arthur regular whole wheat flour ( sift before measuring )
1 cup milk ( scald before measuring, milk should be heated to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit )
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup potato flakes
Soaker
3 cups King Arthur regular whole wheat flour ( always sift before measuring )
1 cup milk ( scalded before measuring and allowed to cool to room temperature )
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt.
Dough
2 eggs
1 cup King Arthur regular whole wheat flour or the rest of flour, there should be 6 cups total
1/2 cup butter
Spices
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon each ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, white pepper
2 teaspoons dried orange peel
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1. Making the sponge. Mix the two cups flour, and the 1/2 cup potato flakes in a small bowl. Dissolve the 1 teaspoon yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water. Let the milk cool to lukewarm and then add it to the flour/potato flake mixture. Stir the milk into the flour until most of the lumps are dissolved.
Look at the yeast mixture. The yeast should be totally dissolved and the liquid should be producing small bubbles. If it does not bubble there is something wrong. Either the yeast is dead, or the water was too hot or too cold. The water should feel warm to the touch, but not hot enough to be painful. About 105 degrees Fahrenheit according to some recipes. I use active dry yeast, the other varieties might behave differently. If the yeast mixture does not show signs of life, make another yeast mixture with the correct temperature water or with different yeast.
Mix the yeast into the rest of the dough. This should produce a thick batter. If it is too liquid, some more flour can be added to the sponge. Cover the bowl and let it sit at least until the batter is full of air holes and the yeast is obviously growing. This is probably 2 hours. The sponge can be refrigerated overnight
2. Making the soaker. Mix the salt and the three cups of flour together in a small bowl. Stir in the milk and then the water. If necessary add a little more water. This should be a fairly thick batter but all the flour should be moistened. The soaker allows the wheat bran to soak up liquid and soften, and the rest of the flour undergoes an enzymatic process that produces some sugar from the starch. There needs to be enough liquid available that the flour can absorb the maximum amount. The salt prevents spoilage and this is a good time. Cover the bowl and let sit until the sponge is done. The soaker should rest for at least an hour. The sponge and the soaker should have about the same consistency.
3. Mixing the dough. In a medium size or large bowl, beat the two eggs thoroughly. Mix in the sponge and the soaker. Keep mixing until everything is thoroughly homogenized. I cut the sponge and soaker into chunks with a plastic scraper, stir together, cut into chunks again and stir some more. Keep on blending the soaker and sponge and eggs together into one thick batter. Add the rest of the flour to the batter and stir together until thoroughly combined. Add a little more water if necessary. Knead lightly with your hands if necessary. Stop once all the ingredients are combined, but don't stop until all the flour is mixed in. Horrible little lumps can develop from dry pockets of flour. Once all the ingredients are combined, then put in a bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. During this time the flour absorbs the water in a process called hydration. This resting period makes it easier to knead, and allows the bran in the fresh flour to soften so that the sharp edges of the bran does not tear the gluten strands. Note take the butter out of the refrigerator at this point. It will be easier to knead if its at room temperature or at least not hard.
4. Kneading the dough. Knead the dough and then knead it some more. I knead the dough on my largest cutting board or a plastic sheet for rolling out pie crusts. Knead until all the dough is homogenized with no dry or wet patches and the dough is bouncy when hit and tends to stick together. Try pulling the dough slowly apart to form a window pane. This is one of the indications that the gluten is sufficiently developed. If you get tired of kneading, then wash and oil the mixing bowl and put the dough back in the bowl, wait 15 minutes or so and then knead some more. The rest allows the dough to relax and the yeast to produce more bubbles expanding and strengthening the gluten. I am following the philosophy in Laurel's Kitchen Bread book of kneading well to have a strong fine grain bread which will rise well. The trendy no/little kneading school is for wetter artisan breads not an egg milk butter loaded bread. Once the dough has been kneaded enough place it in the clean mixing bowl and let rest.
5. Mixing the spices. I use a electric coffee mill to grind spices. I have one mill which does coffee and sweet spice, and another mill for chili peppers. Put the lemon and orange peel in the coffee mill and grind until everything is fine particles. Mix the ground citrus peels and the cinnamon, cardamon, white pepper, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Put this in a small container and set aside.
6. Kneading in the butter. If the butter is still hard, cut into small pieces and then rub a couple of tablespoons onto the kneading board. If the butter is at room temperature, rub a couple of tablespoons onto the cutting board. Turn the dough out onto the cutting board and knead until the butter is incorporated in the dough. Repeat the process until there is only a tablespoon of butter left. Smear the remaining butter onto the cutting board, and pat the dough which should be soft into a large rectangle. Spread half the spice mixture on the dough. Fold the dough into thirds and then pat into another rectangle. Spread the rest of the spice mixture on the dough and roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Knead the dough until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The spices should be well blended in too, but if it isn't don't worry about it.
The spices are added last since they interfere with the gluten development.
Put the dough into the bowl and let it rise until light but not double. Don't let it sit too long, a whole wheat dough has a tendency to overferment. If you are pressed for time, only let it sit 15 minutes or so to relax the gluten and make it easier to handle.
7. Shaping the dough. Divide the dough into 32 pieces and form into balls. Place this in a half sheet pan 12x18 and let rise until light and fluffy. In cold temperatures this takes overnight. I place my sheet pan in a dedicated underthe bed storage container and let it rise there. If pressed for time, place pans of warm water under the sheet pan.
8. Baking. Check the oven for stray pans and other objects -- don't ask why this is in the directions. Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 15-20 minutes until brown.
Bibliography:
Sher, Gail From A Baker's Kitchen, Harris Publishing Company Inc; Berkeley, Ca 94710; 1984
Reinhart, Peter Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads 10 Speed Press; Berkeley, Ca 94707 2007
Robertson,Laurel; Flinders, Carol; and Bronwen, Godfrey The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book Random House; New York 1984
Sands, Brinna King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook Countryman Press; Woodstock, Vermont 1992