Lemon Love Buns
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk (reserve white for topping)
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
Topping
- 1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1/3 cup coarse white sparkling sugar or Swedish pearl sugar
Directions
1) Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to form a cohesive dough.
2) Knead the dough, by hand, mixer, or bread machine, for 5 to 8 minutes, until it's smooth, soft and supple; avoid adding too much flour, as this will make the buns tough and dry. If you're using a stand mixer, knead for 2 minutes with the flat beater, then switch to the dough hook and knead for an additional 5 minutes.
3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it's puffy, though it probably won't have doubled in bulk.
4) Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and divide it into 16 pieces (about 1 1/2 ounces or 43g each).
5) To make round buns, simply round the pieces into balls. To make hearts or knots, see our illustrated blog post for complete instructions.
6) For soft-sided round buns, place them in a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan. For knots or hearts, space the shaped buns on two lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.
7) Cover the buns, and allow them to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they're nice and puffy; when you press a finger gently into a bun, the resulting indentation shouldn't spring back.
8) While the buns are rising, combine the egg white and water, and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
9) Brush the risen buns with the egg white mixture, and sprinkle with coarse or pearl sugar.
10) Bake the buns for 20 minutes, or until they're a light golden brown. Remove the buns from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Serve warm, or store in an airtight container (a plastic bag is fine) until ready to serve.
Reviews
06/28/2010- These rolls are awesome and so easy to make. I made 15 (instead of 16) round rolls just for easier fitting into 9 x 13 pan. The (grown) kids thought the Fiori di Sicilia citrus flavor rolls tasted more like dessert than dinner rolls so I decided to make them into peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches and they were probably one of the most delicious PBJ sandwiches ever.
- 06/21/2010
- My husband loves lime--especially Key lime. I baked a batch of these buns on Father's Day, using Key Lime oil and grated lime zest. I filled them with lime curd. A huge hit! Scrumptious. This dough makes the best, lightest buns and is so easy to work with.
- 04/03/2010
- I baked these today. I wanted a hot cross bun for Easter, so I added currants and chopped candied lemon peel. I only had about 3 T of peel and 3/4 cup of currants, but it seems to have been a perfect amount. I made round rolls and weighed them at 2 oz. each--got 18. I brushed on the egg white wash but did not top with sugar. When the shiny brown rolls came out of the oven, I cooled them briefly, then piped on a cross, made with an icing of powdered sugar and lemon juice. These are the most delicious hot cross buns, ever! Very light texture. The lemon flavor is quite apparent (I used lemon oil) and I could even smell lemon, while they baked. Next time I bake these (and I will!) I think I'll try Fiori di Sicilia and candied orange peel. This dough will be very versatile. Scrumptious!
- 03/27/2010
- 03/09/2010
- Made these for the college students who work for me at night. Gone in seconds! Two changes I made: 1) substituted buttermilk for 4 oz of the water and omitted the dry milk powder; 2) replaced 1.5 oz of the AP flour with pastry flour. Super silky dough. The new ingredients added both richness and lightness to the final product, I think. I have a feeling sour cream or whipping cream would be good in these, too.
- 02/21/2010
- I made these for Valentines Day and added a cream cheese filling to some and lemon curd filling to others in the heart shape. Just make an indentation with your finger after shaping. Oh my! My husband loved them.
- 02/14/2010
- Amazing and easy. I used the dough cycle on my bread machine and left the dough in through the first rise. Fabulous, especially when warm from the oven!
- 02/14/2010
- Stonewall Kitchens makes a Lemon Pear Marmalade that really makes these to die for. Yes, add the lemon zest...
- 02/02/2010
- Today I made these beautifuls hearts, and I gave away to the nurses in the Hospital, they ate them maybe in five minutes were gone all of them!!!, they said that "The best ever they have had" warm yet and so light, I knew was the secret ingredient "dry milk" wow!!!! soooo good, thanks a lot for the recipe!!!!
- 09/01/2009
- I have made these a few times and loved the lemony yeasty flavor. My kids adored them. Thank you for a wonderfully easy recipe. These come out like a bakery danish, and everyone raves when I make them. I would like to make them again with a coconut lime flavor for a BBQ. I was wondering if I used coconut milk powder, would I substitute it for the dry milk, or use both in the recipe?
I would try substituting it for the dry milk, the first time I made it. Mary@KAF
