I saw this episode and knew that I wanted to make these as soon as possible. I found these really delicious and nicely flakey, but I couldn’t get them to rise nearly as much as they did on the show. These were good enough that I will try them again soon to try and get it right. I know that I didn’t get my butter to spread out into as large of flakes as they did. This dough needs to be kept cold – if, at any point it becomes warm and soft, just stick it back in the fridge for a few minutes. The only thing that I did differently was to add a sprinkle of demerara sugar to the rolls before putting them in the oven. Do go to the website and read the entire recipe and watch the video, if it is still available – it is extremely helpful.
DOUGH:
3 C. flour
1 T. sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
3/4 t. salt
24 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and chilled
1 C. sour cream, chilled
1/4 C. orange juice, chilled (about one large orange)
3 T. ice water
1 large egg yolk
FILLING
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. packed light brown sugar
1 T. grated orange zest, (about one large orange)
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
Recipe
Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt thoroughly in a large ziplock bag. Add the butter to the bag, seal the zipper and shake the bag to coat the butter with the flour mixture. Press all the air out the bag and reseal. Roll over the bag several times with a rolling pin, flattening the butter into long flakes. Between rolls, shake the bag to recoat the butter flakes with the flour mixture. Place the butter/flour mixture into a large mixing bowl and mix in the sour cream, orange juice, water and egg yolk.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead briefly to form a cohesive ball. Roll into a 20x12-inch rectangle. Beginning at a short edge, roll up tightly. Pat into a flat 12x4-inch rectangle. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 15 minutes.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil cupcake liners and spray with Pam. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Take the dough from the freezer and roll out on a lightly floured board to 20x12-inches. Sprinkle with the filling to within 1/2-inch from the edges on all four sides. Starting at the long edge, roll into a tight cylinder and pinch to seal the seam (you can use a little water, if needed). Trim the dough about 1/2-inch at each end of the roll and the cut into 12 even pieces. Place, cut side up, into each of the foil muffin cups. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 200 degrees. As soon as it reaches 200 degrees turn the oven off, take the buns from the fridge, remove plastic and place the pan in the oven. Let rise until doubled in size, 20-30 minutes. Take the buns out of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the buns back in the oven for about 5 minutes – until they begin to rise a little more. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes, until deep golden brown. Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove from both the pan and the liners. Cool on wire rack, but serve warm. These reheat quite well.
NOTE: To make ahead – Instead of placing the dough filled muffin tin, in the fridge for 4-24 hours, place it in the freezer until the dough is firm (about 30 minutes). Remove from the tin and place the buns in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to one month. To bake, place the buns in the muffin tin in the fridge for 8-24 hours and proceed with the rising and baking.