Bread Plus Pudding

Yes, man cannot live by bread alone. But if we’re talking about bread with a little custard spread on it, the saying might have to be revised.

I’m talking about dewy buns, plump squares of light dough filled with vanilla custard. I ate my first one in Pennsylvania Dutch country at the Lancaster Market, and if you are thinking of changing careers, a dewy bun business could make you rich. As soon as I got home I worked on recreating them, and I think the following recipe is a good duplicate.

Dewy buns are made from an outstanding all-purpose, no-knead yeast dough ideally suited also for dinner buns, baked doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. If you have never made a yeast dough before, this is the one to try. The only thing you need to be careful about is using liquid that is too hot (over 105 degrees) when you dissolve the yeast.

You can mix this dough in a large bowl before going to bed, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Some time the next day or evening, let the dough double in bulk in a warm, draft-free spot. Then put the dough on a floured board, pat into a circle or square about half an inch thick, cut out the buns, put on a baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes.

DEWY BUNS BUNS

2 packages dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 1/2 cups flour

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in bowl and let dissolve 5 minutes.

Heat milk and shortening in saucepan until shortening melts. Cool to lukewarm.

Put yeast in large bowl and add milk mixture. Stir in sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups flour. Beat briskly until well blended. Add remaining flour and beat until smooth. At this point, dough may be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight, up to 24 hours.

To rise, cover bowl and place in warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, 3 or more if dough has been refrigerated.

When dough has doubled in bulk, flour work board generously and turn dough out. Dough will be soft and needs enough flour on board to prevent sticking. Pat dough in circle for round dewy buns, or into 1/2-inch-thick square for square buns. Cut dough with circular biscuit cutter or use knife and cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.

Place buns 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet. Let buns rise uncovered on baking sheets 20 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees until golden, about 10 minutes. Do not brown. Remove and cool slightly.

CUSTARD FILLING

1 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten until uniform yellow color

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Scald milk in small saucepan over medium heat. While milk is heating, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt together in bowl large enough to contain milk. When milk forms bubbles and develops scalded aroma, slowly pour over sugar mixture. Stir briskly until mixture is smooth.

Pour mixture back into saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste. When mixture is smooth, not coarse, remove from heat.

Add 1 cup of thickened milk to beaten eggs, whisking in rapidly to prevent curdling. Pour egg mixture into thickened milk in saucepan, stir well and return pan to heat. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla extract and stir to blend. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

To serve, split as many buns as you are going to serve. Spread each with about 2 tablespoons custard. Freeze leftover buns to be used later. (Ideally, buns should be warm when served.)

Makes about 20 (2 1/2-inch) square or round buns.

Each bun, with 2 tablespoons Custard Filling, contains about:

161 calories; 288 mg sodium; 47 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.08 gram fiber.