February 10, 2012 - Granny's Rustic Buns



No, no! Not those buns!



These buns! Pretty ugly, huh? Wilderness posts such good sounding meals and recipes, I decided to give her Potato Bread recipe a try. I tossed everything in the bread machine, just as she had them listed (I used 1/2 cup of warm mashed potato), until I came to the flour. Oh, dear.....it didn't look like I had three cups in that canister! Sure enough, I was at least 1/4 cup short, and not a bit more flour in the house. Oh, I had some whole wheat flour, but Mr. Granny won't eat anything but white bread. Well, of course I decided to go ahead with the recipe with what flour I had on hand. It was really soft and runny when it finished the dough cycle, so I oiled my hands and dug in. Honestly, this was as smooth as I could get them.


They were still quite lumpy looking after rising. Oh.....I had a pot of ham and bean soup simmering in the crock pot, so I removed the lid and put a cookie sheet and a cutting board over the top and put the covered rolls on them to rise. It worked great! The cutting board kept them from getting too warm.


Not the loveliest buns I ever made, but they'll do.


Oh, my...will they ever! The texture was a bit course, due to the too soft dough, but the flavor was divine. The recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks, Wilderness!


Mr. Granny was in his Man Cave, engrossed in a movie, so I dined alone at the kitchen counter. Ham and bean soup, Waldorf salad, iced green tea and "rustic" buns with real butter. It doesn't get much better than this.

23 comments:

  1. Looking at the picture makes me hungry! There's nothing better than homemade bread, except maybe bean soup. I just threw out about 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, left over from supper, and now I'm mad at myself.

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  2. What an ingenious rising system. I'll have to remember that.

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  3. dianefaith, I'm always throwing out dabs of mashed potatoes. I guess I need a container for them in the freezer, just for adding to bread. They make any loaf so much softer and more moist.

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  4. Stefaneener, I'd never thought to do that before. The kitchen was kind of cold, and I even went in and looked to see if there was room under the plant lights for them....there wasn't. I came back into the kitchen and it hit me. The crock pot was sitting there, nice and warm! I put the cookie sheet on it, but it was way too warm, so I grabbed the thick cutting board. Perfect!

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  5. I love potato bread! This looks delicious!

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  6. Oh boy, they look wonderful to me! I copied that recipe and am planning to make it when we have some left over mashed potatoes.

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  7. Yum those look delicious. My husband wishes I would bake him white bread. I'm always adding whole wheat flour. He doesn't like it nearly as much as white. But you at least can put veggies in your husband's dishes. I have to puree them to hide them from him or he won't eat them. When I make chicken pot pie I puree all the carrots, celery, and onion. Otherwise he will spend the meal picking out every one.

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  8. Fantastic looking bread! I have been wanting to make some homemade bread. I may have to pull out those old recipes.

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  9. Sounds really good. Now my husband is the other way - he's down on white flour so if I had added the wheat flour the rolls would have been more attractive to him. And what a great use of the warmth of the crock pot.

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  10. Excellent looking buns! Despite the shortage of flour they seemed to have a good quality appearance to them. I have been traveling on business for the past few days and am happy to be home again to enjoy more simple but wholesome meals.

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  11. Your buns looks beautiful!

    Just wanted to stop by and say hello!

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  12. Toni, you stinker! Where have you been? You saw me remove everyone who hadn't posted recently from my "Favorite Bloggers" list just yesterday, didn't you? ;-) Not to worry, you are still in my Google Reader, so I can keep tabs on you! Now get back there and blog, so I know what you're up to! Sheesh, I just checked and you haven't posted to your garden blog since last July! Get with it, girl!

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  13. Meems, I have to admit I do to. I know the whole grains are better for me, and that's usually what I eat, but there is nothing better tasting than a soft, warm, white roll (or slice of bread) fresh from the oven....with real butter!

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    Robin, They are really good. I'll make them again, using the correct amount of flour!

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    But, Daphne, will he eat butternut squash pie? ;-)

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    Crafty Christy, we've been trying to shed a few pounds this winter, so I've not made bread as often as I normally would. Now that I'm at my desired weight, and Mr. Granny has given up, I will ease back into it....until I see the pounds adding up on the bathroom scale!

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    Marsha, if Mr. Granny sees even a hint of brown in his bread, he turns up his nose. When I buy bread, I always get two kinds, plain white for him and multi-grain for me.

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    Kitsap, give me homemade soup and bread every day of the week, and I'll be a happy girl! Mr. G always wants his meat and potatoes for dinner, and I much prefer a lighter evening meal. Heck, I'd be satisfied with a bowl of cereal!

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  14. Oh, yum! I love homemade bread and soup. Just can't get any better. And aren't you smart, putting your rolls to rise over the slow cooker. I have mine going now and was going to make bread later today, I guess I won't have to get out the heating pad after all!
    ~~Lori

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  15. Lori, I never though to use a heating pad! We learn from each other :-)

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  16. Mmmmmm, yummy. Oh yes, the new counters do look fabulous!!!

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  17. Thanks, Heather! I do like the new counter tops. Such a change from the awful gold ones. They are, however, harder to keep clean. I can't just wipe them off, I have to also dry them. Otherwise they streak! I'm so used to just grabbing the dish rag and giving the counter a quick wipe.

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  18. It's cold here, and THAT meal looks divine!!!

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  19. Those buns look awesome! Sorry I missed dinner... :)

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  20. Peggy and Erin, come on over for soup & buns! OK, virtual soup and buns. No calories!

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