Classic Crumb Buns Recipes

CINNAMON CRUMBLE BUNS

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the bread flour, mashed potato flakes, granulated sugar, cinnamon, yeast and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the milk, vanilla and eggs; whisk to break up the eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough just comes together.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing until incorporated. Continue to mix until the dough comes together in a ball. If the dough is sticking a lot to the sides of the bowl, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until most of the dough no longer sticks. (A little sticking to the bottom of the bowl, beneath the hook, is fine. Adding too much flour will make the buns dry, so use a light hand.)
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until shiny and smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. (The dough should be very soft but not wet and sticky; a little tacky is OK.) Place the dough in a large bowl sprayed with nonstick spray; lightly spray the top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm corner of your kitchen until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
• For the filling: Stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Roll the dough out into a long rectangle, about 10-by-21 inches. Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, followed by 4 cups of frozen Crumble. Starting from a long side, roll the dough into a jelly roll.
• Cut the log into 2-inch pieces and place, cut-side down, in a buttered 10-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of Crumble over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled in volume, 30 to 45 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the buns, loosely wrapped in foil, for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden brown on top, about 5 more minutes.
• For the glaze: Meanwhile, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
• While the buns are still warm (but not hot), drizzle with the glaze. Serve warm.
• Combine the all-purpose flour, melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir together and then work with a spoon or your fingers until the butter is absorbed and the mixture forms clumps. Place in a resealable plastic bag and freeze until needed.

CLASSIC CRUMB BUNS

Steps:

• *Prepare the yeast dough.
• Place water in the bowl of your electric mixer, sprinkle with yeast and add sugar, stir until yeast is dissolved.
• Set aside for 10 minutes or until foam and a few bubbles start to form on the surface.
• In a small saucepan, over low heat, warm the milk and butter until butter just melts.
• Temperature of the mixture should not be more than 105°F Add the 105°F butter/milk into the proofed yeast mixture, stir.
• Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
• Add 1 cup of all purpose flour, the cake flour, 1/4 cup of sugar and the 1/2 tsp salt.
• Beat on low speed until smooth and well blended.
• Add 2 cups of the remaining flour and, with your mixer on slow, blend it in to the mixture.
• Slowly add the remaining flour in 1/4 cup increments until the dough forms a smooth, soft (not sticky) ball that comes away from the sides of the bowl.
• It may be necessary to do this last step by hand with a wooden spoon if your mixer is not a heavy duty model.
• If using the heavy duty mixer, install the dough hook and mix until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
• OR, knead by hand for about 5 minutes on a lightly floured board, it should be smooth and will no longer stick to the work surface.
• Transfer the dough to a bowl that's been well buttered, flip it around a couple times to coat all sides of the ball.
• Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until it's about doubled in size.
• It can also rise overnight in the fridge, but must be allowed to come to room temperature before making crumb buns Using your fist gently punch down the dough to deflate.
• The dough is now ready to form into buns.
• **For the Crumbs.
• While your dough is rising, about 20 minutes before it's done, prepare the crumbs.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed beat the butter, sugars, salt and vanilla until the mixture is well combined, about one minute.
• Add the flour and sprinkle the cinnamon over the top.
• Combine until mixture just forms a crust.
• **For the buns.
• After punching down the dough, divide it into two portions, cover.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough until it forms a 8x14 inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
• Brush the dough lightly with some melted butter and evenly sprinkle 3/4 cup of the crumb mixture over the buttered surface.
• Starting at the long side furtherest away from you fold 1/3rd of the dough over on itself, brush this surface with melted butter, fold the double layer of dough over again to cover the remaining 1/3rd of the dough that's closest to you.
• You will now have a 3 layered dough that's 14 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide.
• Press gently on the dough so the layers adhere and pinch around the edges to seal.
• Cut the rectangle into 7, 2-inch portions.
• Repeat with second half of dough.
• Butter a 9x13x2-inch baking pan, place the buns 1/2 inch apart in the pan.
• Brush the top of each bun with melted butter and sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the mixture allowing some to fall between.
• Gently press the crumbs into the top of the buns.
• Cover pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes or unit the dough looks puffy.
• The buns should NOT be touching.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Remove plastic wrap from the buns and bake for about 40 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the crumbs are slightly firm.
• The buns will have spread into one large pull apart pan of buns.
• Allow to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.
• With a small sharp knife cut along the sides of the pan and carefully remove buns so as not to disturb crumbs.
• Transfer to a rack to cool, just before serving dust with confectioners sugar.
• Cover and store at room temperature for 2 days.
• To freshen wrap in foil and heat in a 300°F oven until just warm.

OLD-FASHIONED CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm milk, and 1 tablespoon sugar in bowl of mixer until yeast is dissolved, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Stir together lemon juice and remaining 3/4 cup milk and let stand until curdled, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 3 3/4 cups flour to yeast mixture along with salt, eggs, vanilla, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and mix at low speed until just combined. Add curdled milk and beat at medium speed until a dough forms. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating, then continue to beat until dough is silky and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Make topping:
• Pulse together topping ingredients in a food processor until many large clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, until ready to use.
• Form and bake cake:
• Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking dish or pan.
• Stir dough several times with a rubber scraper to release air, then spread evenly in baking dish.
• Sprinkle dough with half of topping, then cover dish with kitchen towel and let dough rise again in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Put oven rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sprinkle remaining topping over top of cake and bake until topping is golden, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack until barely warm, then cut into squares.

NEW YORK CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush a 9-by-12 1/2-inch baking pan with canola oil, dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.
• Transfer pan to oven, and bake, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Continue baking until a cake tester comes out clean, about 10 minutes more.
• Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Using a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut into 3-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.