Wednesday Baking | Cornmeal Buns

Today’s recipe is yet another from my 1970s Better Homes and Gardens bread book. I love that thing! These rolls are a basic white roll with a twist in the form of cornmeal…kind of like a fancy corn muffin, but much less crumbly.

I’m not sure why they’re called buns instead of rolls, unless the recommended two-dough-ball shape is the reason. Ahem.

Speaking of which, did we call small rolls “buns” because they look like people’s derrieres, or did we come up with that nickname because people’s derrieres resembled two small rolls? I’m thinking the latter, because I’m pretty sure that in the 1800s, nobody referred to their rears as buns.

But, I digress!

Mix some flour and yeast together.

And heat some milk, butter, sugar, and salt to 115-120 ° F.

(I am loving the fact that I learned how to make a real degree sign show up here. It’s the small things, people.).

Add the warm liquids to the flour mixture, along with two eggs, and beat for several minutes.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal and enough flour to make a soft dough. Dust your counter with a bit of flour, like so.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead for 6-8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.

Cornmeal is very low in gluten, so this dough is a little heavier than most yeast doughs. Be careful not to add too much flour or your dough will be really heavy.

Place the kneaded dough into a bowl, cover it with a wet tea towel, and let it rise. I was in a hurry, so I put mine out on top of the grill, which was warm from the sunshine.

Punch the kneaded dough down and divide it into 3 portions. To make two-sectioned rolls, divide each portion of dough into 24 pieces, shape each into a ball, and place two in each greased muffin cup.

I only have two muffin pans so for the third portion of dough, I cut it into 12 pieces, shaped each into a ball, and placed them on a greased baking sheet.

Cover the dough balls and let them rise for 50-60 minutes. I know this is a super long time for rolls, but this dough is a little on the heavy side from the cornmeal, butter, sugar, and eggs, so it takes a while to rise.

Bake the risen rolls in a preheated 350 ° F (ooh, the degree sign again!) oven for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This recipe makes 36 buns/rolls, but they freeze nicely and are also yummy at breakfast (we like them warm, topped with butter and jam or butter and honey.).

Cornmeal Buns

makes 36
printable version

5 1/2-6 cups all purpose flour
1 pkg. (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cornmeal

In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and the yeast. Combine milk, sugar, butter, and salt, and heat to 115-120 degrees F.

Add warm liquids to flour in mixer bowl; add eggs. Beat on low speed for 1 minute; beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in cornmeal and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down; turn onto floured surface. Divide into 3 portions; divide each portion into 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place two balls in each cup of a greased muffin tin (or divide each dough portion into 12 pieces, shape each into a ball, and placed on greased baking sheets).

Cover rolls, let rise for 50-60 minutes, and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.