Like Sunshine On A Cloudy Day...

We are in the process of making this right now. As I hit "publish" I am walking to the kitchen to start this project. I have so much work to do today but these look SO good. I will, however, uses cow's milk and cow's butter in the recipe and omit the lemon extract opting to double the lemon. I hope they turn out well. Thanks for the post What Smells So Good, I hope mine turn out well.


------------------------------------------


Like Sunshine On A Cloudy Day...: "I won't lie. I love the song 'My Girl' by The Temptations - have ever since I first heard the tinny MIDI file in my grade 9 music class with Mr. Burford. It's been a tune that's always had a place in my 'Music' folder on my desktop, and upon hearing the first bars of the song I can't help but start humming, tapping my toes, and eventually singing along to each happy go lucky lyric.

Keep Reading...

Things like the perfect song coming onto the radio or my computer's playlist at the right time really go a long way to making my day - I'm a musically oriented person through and through, and I always need some sort of auditory stimulus in order to focus on anything! To my mom, it seems counterintuitive to have something 'distracting' going on in the background while I'm trying to concentrate, but it's always been like that with me, and often when I have a host of great songs with the right rhythm and beat playing away seemingly amazing results occur.

Such was the case with these sweet / tart lemon yellow yeast buns. Granted, they are not my pure creation - that honour and credit goes to the great minds at King Arthur Flour for the 'Lemon Love Buns' that inspired me. I merely opted to really jack up the lemon flavour in these with a triple dose of lemon extract plus lemon zest and juice, then made them dairy free with a touch of whole wheat for an added wholesome boost. Just because I wound up getting rather, should we say, lazy by the time it came to shape the dough into it's final form, I left the buns as round balls rather than shaping them into the pretty coils and hearts that KAF made, and simply glazed them with the egg white without doing the sugar sprinkle.

Regardless of the recipe I used or the changes I made, these buns (being sent to this week's YeastSpotting at Wild Yeast) really are the sunshine in a cloudy day. Not only to they emulate the bright yellow sun that struggles every Winter morning to peek through the clouds, but making them brings that immense sense of accomplishment and well being... because nothing smells better than a baking batch of bread!

Luscious Lemon Buns

Makes 10

3/4 cup warm, fat free soy milk, divided

3 tbsp sugar, divided

1 tbsp dry active yeast

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon extract

1 egg + 1 egg yolk (reserve white for brushing tops)

1/4 cup margarine, cut into pieces and softened

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together ¼ cup soy milk, sugar and the yeast. Let stand 10 minutes.


2. In another bowl, whisk together flours and salt. Set aside.


3. Add the remaining soy milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract to the proofed yeast, stirring well.


4. Add all the flour and, with the dough hook on low speed, begin combining.


5. Once the flour has begun to incorporate, add the egg and egg yolk, then the margarine one piece at a time.


6. Knead until all the ingredients are cohesive and dough is elastic, about 8-9 minutes.


7. Place into an oiled bowl, cover and let rest 1 hour, until doubled.


8. Punch down and divide into 10 even balls, placing onto a greased or lined baking sheet.


9. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.


10. Preheat oven to 350F.


11. Brush the reserved egg white over the tops of the buns.


12. Bake for 20 minutes, until glossy and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 239.0

Total Fat: 6.3 g

Cholesterol: 42.5 mg

Sodium: 76.9 mg

Total Carbs: 38.2 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g

Protein: 7.6 g