I’ve recently realized how curiosity has been at the wheel during most of my life. So many of the significant, surprising moments ingrained in my memory came from an insatiable need to find answers to the questions that pop up in my mind. That pull to explore a subject, a creative project, a situation, or often times a person, has led to incredible experiences… and also disaster. I’m fascinated by the layers of things. The nuance, the mystery, the things that aren’t immediately apparent. I want to know what’s underneath, what makes something tick, and what I might discover if I dig a little deeper. Countless times my curiosity has gotten the better of me and I’ve ended up getting bit in the ass by what I discover. Or, I dig too deep and am shoved off the proverbial cliff. You could say that I tend to fly too close to the sun.

Maybe that’s why professional recipe development felt like a natural transition to me. The subject just happened to be food. Recipe development is essentially asking questions and refusing to leave them unanswered. You follow a thread of thought that wonders what a food would taste like with this ingredient or that texture. It’s a call to find out and only you can do the work to answer your specific questions. With time, your mind becomes a library of flavor resources. You can walk through the aisles, pull down something you’ve used a hundred times, or discover something you haven’t opened in years, and begin stacking flavors together until you have the combination that you want to explore further in the physical world. Sometimes is leads to something incredible and (more times than I’d like to admit) it’s a big ol’ bust. However, even the disappointments are learning experiences that feed the drive of curiosity to figure it out.

Take this recipe, for example. My daughter and I recently went apple picking and as we brought our haul home, my curiosity was peaked on what I could do with all the fresh apples. What kind of pastry would showcase them besides pie? One question lead to another, then I found myself in a deep rabbit hole of developing laminated brioche buns.

I started with the apples. Caramelized apples cooked with the traditional spices that we associate with comfort was the obvious place to start. From there, curiosity took over. What else might work? I experimented with a few ideas, including coriander whose citrusy, floral quality would pair particularly well with the apple cider glaze. It turned out to not be quite right for this recipe, so I left it out and kept it classic. But, that’s the point. Curiosity doesn’t require that every question lead to something you want to keep. Sometimes, the answer is simply knowing that you tried.

The texture was another question I wanted to explore. Laminated brioche requires a simple series of folds in order to create a flakier outcome. When paired with tender spiced apples, it had the potential to produce an end result that’s light and airy with just enough of a crisp outer crust to keep it from feeling one-dimensional. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add more steps to this recipe though, but I tried it anyway to see if it truly enhanced the dough. And, it did! That experiment worked and that’s what keeps me curious: the possibility that the thing you almost didn’t try might turn out to be the thing that makes everything else worth it. So go ahead, follow your curiosity. You never know where it might lead.

Helpful Tips For This Recipe

*Laminating the brioche is a simple process of rolling the dough out and folding it onto to itself with what is a called a “letter fold.” After the initial roll, image the dough divided into three equal sections. Fold the left third towards the center, then fold the right third over the folded dough. It’s just like folding a business letter.

*After cutting the dough into 12 strips, you’ll take one strip and cut that carefully into three equal strands (see photos above for reference). Yes, the strips will be very thin. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Next, braid the strands. Lastly, tuck the ends of the dough under the entire braid and place it into the muffin tin cavity (braided top is facing up and the ends are underneath). It’s a tight squeeze. Trust the process here.

*Once the baking time is up, double check the centers of the largest bun and make sure it’s baked all the way through. Oven temperatures can vary, so a quick peek into the interior will ensure that the dough is fluffy and tender, but not under-baked. If the tops begin to over-brown, but they still need a few more minutes to finish baking all the way through, you can tent the entire pan with aluminum foil until they’re done.

 

Caramelized Apples & Cinnamon Brioche Buns with Apple Cider Glaze

Makes 12 buns

Laminated Brioche Dough

2 cups  bread flour
3 Tbsp  granulated sugar
1 tsp  kosher salt
2 tsp  instant yeast
3 Tbsp  water
3 Tbsp  whole milk
2  large eggs
8 Tbsp  unsalted butter, room temperature soft

 

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the instant yeast, water, milk, and eggs. Add in the flour mixture. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on medium-high speed until dough comes together and becomes smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. On low speed, add in the soft butter one tablespoon at a time, allowing each piece to mostly incorporate into the dough before adding the next. Stop and scrape down the bowl as needed. Once all the butter is added, turn the mixer back to medium-high and mix for another 4-5 minutes. Turn off the mixer and twist off a piece of dough to conduct a window pan test. The dough should stretch easily, without tearing, and reveal a thin film of dough in the center. The final dough should be soft and tacky yet not overly sticky.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Set on the counter and allow it to rise for 2 hours. Then, transfer to the refrigerator to rest overnight, or at least 4 hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll out and laminate. Meanwhile, prepare your apple filling and let cool completely before beginning to roll out the chilled dough.

Set out two 12-cup muffin tin sprayed with neutral oil. Roll out the dough into a 12 x 15-inch rectangle. Spread the cinnamon brown sugar butter into a thin layer onto the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Next, spread the chilled apple filling in an even layer on top of the butter. Make your first left-to-right letter fold (see helpful tips above). Transfer the entire sheet of dough onto a sheet pan, lined with parchment paper, and place into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. When ready, roll the dough out again, repeat the letter fold, and chill again.

After the second fold, roll out the dough to a 9 x 12-inch rectangle, then cut into 1-inch strips (80g each). Cut each strip vertically into three strands, leaving about a ½-inch of the folded top of the strip uncut (see photos above). Braid the strands together, tuck the ends of the dough under the entire braid, and place it into a muffin tin cavity. Repeat the process with the remaining dough strips. Cover the muffin tin and let braided buns rise for 1 hour or until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake buns for 33-35 minutes, until edges and tops are deeply golden brown on top and centers are completely cooked through. If you need to bake one muffin tin at a time due to oven space, this is ok. If over-browning, lightly tent the buns with aluminum fold if needed for the last few minutes of baking. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the apple cider glaze.

Dip each still warm bun into the apple cider glaze to generously coat the tops and sides completely. Set back on the cooling rack (tip: place a piece of parchment or foil under the rack to catch the excess glaze). Once the glaze is set, enjoy these laminated brioche buns warm or cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

 

Cinnamon Apple Filling

3 small-to-medium  apples, peel, cored, and fine to medium diced
2 Tbsp  unsalted butter
2 Tbsp  granulated sugar
1 tsp  ground cinnamon
¼ tsp  ground ginger
Pinch of kosher salt


In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender but still hold their shape and most of the moisture has cooked away. There should be no liquid pooling. Transfer the apples to a plate or sheet pan and spread into a thin layer. Let cool for 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely before using.

 

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Butter

3 Tbsp  unsalted butter, room temperature soft
3 Tbsp  light brown sugar
1 tsp  ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients together until smooth.

 

Apple Cider Glaze

1 ½ cups  apple cider
2 cups  confectioner’s sugar
2-4 Tbsp  whole milk
Pinch of kosher salt

In a small saucepan, set over medium-high heat, bring the apple cider to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes or until it reduces to ½ cup. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar, ½ cup reduced apple cider, 2 tablespoons of whole milk, and salt. Glaze should fall from the whisk in a thick ribbon and briefly sit on the surface before slowly settling. If too thick, add 1 tablespoon of additional milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.