The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

keeping yeasted buns fresh for as long as possible

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

keeping yeasted buns fresh for as long as possible

I have a problem and am wondering if anyone has any advice.

I bake on friday nights through to saturday mornig for the markets. As part of the bake i make buchteln ( a delicious yeasted bun filled with jam or poppy seed paste, raisins and almonds). People love them but theyre best eaten fresh. So I put them into the oven at around 6am, after all the bread is out, and theyre at the market ready to be eaten by 8am. 

So heres the problem.

Ive recently been asked to start baking my rolls and loaves on a nightly basis for a salad bar. They also want two trrays of buchtels (around 24) baked every night. Which is great however,  ill have to finish baking in the kitchen by 12am. This means the buns will be sitting in the kitchen until morning. These buns tend to dry out quite quickly. They dont last long. Does anyone know of any tricks to keep them as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Maybe cling film and put in fridge and then slowly warm up in the morning?

Thing is i want to make and sell them. Im the only one in Cork city doing them so theyre a sort of signature but i want them to be good for the customer otherwise i wont make them.... 

 

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

is your friend.  The YW is wonderful for making SD and yeast breads  last and last and give a tender crumb. I add  1 c. of the 2 cups of water needed iwhen I make Challah which is regular yeast based in order to keep it fresh. Challah is notorious for being stale the very next day after you make it. For a batch of 24 rolls subbing in 1c of YW ( I make mine with apples)  with your regular yeast  will be plenty. You will note an increased rate of rise if you use a warmer temp , this is characteristic of YW also so you can definitely decrease your use of commercial yeast as well.  The other thing you should do to keep a tender long lasting crumb is put 50g of yogurt into the water you use for your initial  yeast mix. Danni got several of us started doing it and there is a  notable difference. Good Luck and you are doing a great job to have so much business !   c

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

is YW yeast water?....ive made a yeasted raisin water before - is that what you mean...it was really good - i made a sweet raisn bread with it....yoghurt sounds like a plan what percentage would you use 10 - 15%?

and the selling is going good thanks ...but im crap at business. I just want to bake and leave the money end to someone else. One thing i have realised that its all about volume and its hard to earn a living being a baker - as much as people love a good loaf theyre not too keen on paying for it....supermarkets have a lot to answer for... but then thats the same with all food....anyway no complaints im doing well people love my breads and im learning so much..... 

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

i find Granny Smith makes best and easiest YW. 1/2 Apple eve week to 1 qt water. Add peel of  1/2 an orange fresh each week . My Challah recipe is 7 c flour and 2c water and 3 eggs.... use 1c YW subbed in for the water. Cut yeast by more than half. For the yogurt just use 50 g .... takes very little. Be sure and autolyse flour with the yogurt ... breaks down phytates. You will be amazed at how soft and fresh your crumb will be. Use at least the yogurt in everything you make. as a baker tryin to sell you want fresh tender crumb and this is an inexpensive easy means to an end. 

As far as making a go of cooking or baking for a living... sigh... really difficult. My oldest son is 42 and has been a top chef in US and featured in nation mags... still struggles with finances and production and don't even try to get good help , especially if in a small community. Good luck and ask away for more help or post your formulas for more detailed numbers .

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

The first thing you should try is plastic film and leaving them on the counter overnight. The fridge is a no-no for bread.

You also might try baking them several days ahead, freezing them, and then letting them thaw in the morning. The stuff I freeze lasts for months with no loss of quality as far as I can tell.

Otherwise, you might consider using the Tangzhong method, or adding some potato flour (not starch) or mashed potatoes to increase the moisture content. I use mashed potato flakes for some recipes. Dramatically increases water absorption.

 

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

thanks trailrunner...thats very useful - i loved my raisin water but will try apples this time around. Sounds like a great idea - ive also been asked to start making challah so maybe all my stars are lining up and with your advice im already ahead. Ill try the 50g of yoghurt tonight. Bascially the recipe for my 72 buns is:

900g warm milk

462g unsalted butter

1950g all purpose flour 

30g instant yeast

240g caster sugar

9g salt

6 eggs

13g vanilla extract

and then i fill them with jam or a polish poppy seed paste called kasa masova (poppy seed paste, almonds, raisins, honey, milk and almond extract)

if you use 50g yoghurt for every 2 cups (1 cup = 236g) of water youre looking at 20%. If so then i should replace milk with 150g yoghurt. Am i right?  

The same catering problem exists here in Ireland with chefs and producers...in fact theres a chef shortage here cause everyones leaving - wages too low, hours too long. But we do have a large artisanal network and as an agri economy have access to good foodstuffs.   

Hi @tgrayson yep the fridge was a silly thing to be thinking of but cling was one option however as you see above im making a sweet dough for buns so im not sure about the tangzhong method or the potatoes :) having said that i have used the tangzhong method for rolls and it works wonders....

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

that measurement would be right for the yogurt. You really can't mess up with that. When you make the AYW you can use it in one of two ways. Take 100 g of your flour and 100 g of the AYW and make a levain. Let it rise up nicely. When mixing your dough for your rolls leave out 100 g of the flour and 100 g of the milk. Use your AYW levain instead. Start by lowering your instant yeast to 20g . YW really responds to 80-90 degree F rising. You can see how your rising times go and decrease the inst. yeast as you get a feel for it. You can also simply add 100g YW into your milk... remember to use 100g less milk. 

My Challah is in cups and spoons... old recipe and I never bothered to convert. I am not making it for strict Jewish diets so  I don't worry about using real butter.

7 c unbleached flour,1/4 c white sugar, 1/4 c butter softened, ( can use margarine) ,2 tsp salt 1c water and 1 c AYW, 1 tsp yeast. dissolved in waters. 3 eggs. I used to use 4 tsp inst yeast and due to my AYW have cut it 75%!!!! The Challah stays fresh and soft for days. This makes 3 med or 2 large loaves. I also make buns with this formula and rolled out and filled it makes exceptional cinnamon rolls. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your results. I am going to try that poppyseed filling it sounds splendid!

Sugarowl's picture
Sugarowl

Can you par-bake them like with cinnamon rolls? I mean bake them to almost golden brown, then let the restaurant do the rest? Or can they be baked frozen or would that change the texture because of the filling? I have never heard of these rolls before, they sound really good!

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

"a sweet dough for buns so im not sure about the tangzhong method or the potatoes :)"

I don't see why this matters. The only suggestion that affects flavor is the potato flour, but Stella Park's new book includes potato flour in her yellow cake recipe, so a bit of it doesn't have a significant flavor impact.

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

Thanks everyone for all advice and yes all are worth experimenting with and I will - thanks again 

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

Thanks everyone for all advice and yes all are worth experimenting with and I will - thanks again