Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Buttermilk Fantails


I spotted these Buttermilk Fantails Rolls on the cover of the February 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine and made them for dinner last night. They were surprisingly easy to make and a big hit. You can find the recipe online by clicking the recipe link, but I think mine look much better than those pictured on the website (if I do say so myself).  For the sake of convenience, I've reproduced the recipe below.  Do try them.  I am not much of a bread maker, but was enormously pleased with these.  Next time I'm going to add some onion and garlic powder to give them a little more flavor.

Buttermilk Fantails

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon mild honey or sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Butter muffin cups with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)

Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 tablespoons melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft- free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap). Brush dough with 1/2 tablespoon butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup. Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Brush tops with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks' note:
Rolls are best the day they're made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350 degrees F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.
Gourmet | February 2009
by Ruth Cousineau

Yield: Makes 1 dozen rolls
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 5 hr (includes rising)

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5 comments:

From the Kitchen said...

These do look delicious. I probably have that Gourmet. Right now I have Gourmet from August 1993 out. I miss it!

Best,
Bonnie

Anonymous said...

I need some pictures. It seems complicated! But I would totally love to make these because they look so Gourmet!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for dropping your link at the Weekday Potluck! I like how those look, cute fantails! :)

~~louise~~ said...

I'm so not the baker, shame on me. I've promised myself, and Marion, that I would set aside a day, or two, or three, this fall or winter, lol, to hunker down and give it a whirl.

I'll save this link, just in case. Your rolls look heavenly!!!

Lady Behind The Curtain said...

THANK YOU so much for sharing your recipe with me at Cast Party Wednesday. I'd like to invite you back this week.
Thanks,
I hope to see you again!