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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Fail! Sticky Buns - the Cinnamon Bun Variation



This week for Sweet Melissa Sundays, Jen of Not Microwave Safe chose Sticky Buns with Toasted Almonds as our recipe. Woo!! At the end of the recipe, Sweet Melissa included directions for a Cinnamon Bun variation. Well, since there is a bit of an OBSESSION in this house with Cinnamon Buns, I decided to go with those.

No matter which variation, sticky or cinnamon bun, there is yeast involved. And me and yeast do not get along. I don't know what it is! I'm going to blame it on the extreme heat and humidity here in Florida, even though I know the reality is that I just don't know what I'm doing. :( Someone needs to come over here and teach me, I want to get over this yeasty hurdle!! As I expected, it didn't rise. It never does for me! When I put them in the steamy oven to proof, some did puff up a little bit, which got me VERY excited, as it is the most success I've had with yeast EVER... but not all of them did... and they certainly didn't double in size. Oh well, I thought, I've made cinnamon buns before which didn't rise properly and were still mucho delicious. So I popped 'em in the oven for their 45-50 minute bake time. I ran to the supermarket and told Dan to check on 'em. When I got back, there was still 5 minutes left on the timer, and they were totally Too-Toasty!!!! Only 40 minutes, and these puppies were OVER DONE. I was SO upset! I frosted them anyway, and sampled, but the result was a tooooo-dry, too-done bun!! I noticed on the message board that Melissa of Lulu the Baker's only baked 25. I wish I had check them about half way through because I possible could have salvaged them!

But oh well! Lesson learned! A) Don't leave the boy to check on the buns (just kidding, he was just following instructionssss, it's not his faultttttt) B.) Never trust the baking time in recipes - always check early!

I think after I get a yeast lesson, I'll try these again because they SMELLED like they really could be delicious!

Head on over to Jen of Not Microwave Safe to see the recipe! And make sure you see how the rest of the Sweet Melissa Sunday Bakers fared!








Too toastyyyyyy!



20 comments:

Jen T. said...

Oh no! I'm sorry they didn't work out for you. I think this recipe seems like it would be more likely to fail because there's no way of checking if your yeast is alive since you just add it straight in. They still look pretty, though! And I think you can still blame Dan a tiny bit if you want to :-) Anyway, thanks for baking this week, even if the results weren't as awesome as you'd hoped!

Shandy said...

Oh My Goodness, what a terrible things to happen when working with a recipe that takes the extra time this one does! I overbaked mine a little too.

The yeast thing, do you try different yeast brands or do you stick with just a particular brand? I am just curious. I work with yeast quite often and know that yeast can go bad. Well, the cinnamon buns still looked delicious =)

Nina said...

OH NO! It's okay though. At least they were still good. I had pulled mine out a bit early, but I was waiting for the tops to turn golden brown and by then, they were a bit too dry too. The icing made it all better though!

Julie said...

Yeast and I don't get along real well either. Mine didn't raise as much as some of the others I have seen but they taste so good!

Julie said...

Yeast and I don't get along real well either. Mine didn't raise as much as some of the others I have seen but they taste so good!

Unknown said...

Oh bummer, I'm so sorry they didn't work for you! Did you use instant yeast for these? I was curious that Melissa didn't proof the active yeast before adding it to the recipe so that might have been a factor. In any event, I hope you'll give it another shot. Your pictures are gorgeous - looks like you rolled the dough so tightly, I always struggle with that.

Karin said...

I'm so sorry these didn't work out for you. Definitely give it another go because they are delicious! I agree with Tracey- I was a little surprised the recipe didn't call to proof the yeast and I was trying to figure out a way to alter the recipe so I could. Do you use active rise yeast? This seems to work the best for me (I also keep it store in the fridge).

Sarah said...

Oh, what a bummer! Well, one thing you certainly don't need to work on is you rolling skills - those pre-baked buns look as perfect as can be! Maybe you need new yeast?

k.a.r.e.n said...

I dont like working with yeast either but dont give up... it'll come together for you eventually.

Megan said...

I didn't get along with yeast either, until this year when I sat it down and told it who was in charge.

Those pictures are so pretty - the rolls look great - they don't look overdone.

Mrs. G said...

Oh no! My buns took about 25 minutes too. I'm sorry they didn't turn out right for you.

Cherie said...

I'm sorry they didn't turn out! For the yeast, have you tried: 1) adding about a teaspoon or less of honey to the warm water for the yeast to feast on? Should come out nice and foamy. 2) covering dough with a warm moist towel in the warm-ish oven? 3) trying warmer water? Mine tends to be borderline hot since it never foams in the 100 degree range. If those don't work your yeast may have died. :( Definitely try again!

Jeannette said...

i overbaked mine too.

make sure you check the expiration date of your yeast. on the back it gives you some instructions to see if your yeast is active. and if you need a sure fire yeasty success, check out my blog for the simple pizza dough. i promise it'll rise :)

Eliana said...

The same exact thing happened to mine only I wasn't brave enough to photgraph them. I'm going to def try them again though.

Anonymous said...

Oh no! Mine were done 10 minutes early too.

margot said...

How disappointing! They still look really yummy. I had so many problems with the bee stings that I made sure to read the P&Q carefully to avoid any issues this time, mine were done in 25 minutes.

Lulu the Baker said...

They look really pretty pre-bake, if that's any consolation! My trick with yeast--although I didn't know how to do it for this recipe, so I just followed directions--is to proof it first. But I don't just mix it with warm liquid and let it sit. I put the warm liquid/yeast mixture (and always a little sugar) in a super-hot water bath while it sits. I swear, it has never failed me!

Lindsey@pickyeatings said...

I looove cinnamon buns. Yeast is a fickle beast, don't feel bad.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Hey, me and yeast aren't friends either but I'm moving passed our differences. I am conquering yeast as I WANT homemade cinnamon rolls and sticky buns! (I agree with you 100% about the FL heat and humidity making things more difficult!)

Sorry about all your mishaps!
~ingrid

Joy said...

Hi Stephanie!

I'm so sorry you faced a few hurdles while making this recipe... I always get really frustrated when a directed baking time is WAY off- it made me wonder if these were ever tested exactly as the book instructs prior to publication, either that or maybe it was a typo. I was lucky enough to read that P&Q comment, so I saved my buns before they over baked. But not to worry- your buns still look absolutely delicious, if that's any consolation!

Please don't let yeast intimidate you... it does take some practice, but one you get the hang of it, it's really a lot of fun! If you ever need suggestions for some yummy foolproof recipes, feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to help :)

I hope you're doing well, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Have a great rest of your week!

<3,
Joy

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