We loved the sun bread we made last year so much that I decided to make another variation this year– sun buns!! (Also admittedly I just really like saying sun buns) Same idea, just smaller and easier to serve. Sun Bread, is of course a beloved book by by Elisa Kleven about baking a sun bread to coax the sun to come back- perfect for the Winter Solstice. In the book they bake a big bread to share, which is of course delightful too, but since I had already deviated from the recipe in the story, I decided to keep going. I use a gluten free brioche recipe from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple (actually the babka recipe which makes a double batch) to make this sun bread gluten free. You can use any brioche style recipe that works for your families allergies. (And you can read more about allergy friendly holiday baking on my original post here) The spiral shape of these sun buns not only reflects the drawings in the book, but the traditional Winter Solstice motif. Think Solstice spirals! Only you can eat your way thorugh this one.
Sun Buns
The quantity of bread your brioche recipe will make isn’t standardized, so adjust the spices as you see fit. The recipe I use as a base has three cups of flour which is what I use to compare recipes in this situation. (So if you are using a recipe that calls for 1.5, you know to half the spices listed here.) That said, the spices aren’t a structural part of the recipe, so feel free to change them to taste. If you don’t want to make the persimmon butter, orange jam or marmalade would be good swap. These are not super sweet like cinnamon rolls, despite the similar shape, they are just a little sweet and perfect with tea.
Ingredients:
- your favorite “base” brioche recipe
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp dried calendula petals
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 tsp ginger
- pinch saffron
- egg wash (optional)
- persimmon butter (recipe follows)
- orange honey butter (recipe follows)
Method:
Generally, make the bread as your recipe instructs. When you are proofing your yeast in milk or water, add the saffron to the warm liquid. Add the turmeric, calendula, orange zest and ginger with the dry ingredients. Complete the first rise according to your recipe.
Next shape the bread. Divide the dough into 12 or 16 pieces. You’ll need two pieces to make each sun bun, so 12 will make 6 buns and 16 will make 8 buns. I made 6 and they were a little bigger than I wanted.
For each bun, roll the first piece of dough into a long snake. lay it flat on your work surface and flatten it a little and then spread it with the persimmon butter. Roll it up like a cinnamon bun and place it on your baking sheet. Smooth out the spiral of persimmon better as needed.
Next, divide the second piece of dough (remember you should have two pieces of dough for each bun.) and divide it into six small pieces. Roll them all into balls and stick them around the spiral. They should be making contact, but you don’t have to really squish they on, they’ll join as they rise the second time.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for the second time, around 45 minutes.
Brush with egg wash and bake according to your recipe. (You will likely need to reduce the time depending on the original shaping instructions– mine took around 20 minutes)
Serve warm with orange honey butter!
Persimmon Butter
This makes more than you need, you can actually scale it back to one persimmon which will be about what you need, but it’s fiddly to cook that way and delicious so you may as well make extra! (I have done it with one persimmon though and it cooks much faster.) There are two main types of Asian persimmons: the astringent variety– hachiya which is sort of pointed or egg shaped and the non-astringent– fuyu which is round. I prefer fuyu and use it for this recipe. I have read that hachiya contains more pectin and have tried using a mixture, but I just don’t like them as much. North American persimmons are much smaller (and also astringent) so I would factor at least 3-4 for each fuyu persimmon. I might add more sugar to them too.
Ingredients:
- 6 persimmons
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Method:
Peel and dice the persimmons. Pop them into a food processor and puree them until smooth.
Add the persimmon puree, sugar, orange juice and zest to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20-45 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. (Thick apple butter, but persimmon) You can add more orange juice as needed. Cool and fill your sun bread! The extra can be kept sealed in the fridge for a week or two.
Orange Honey Butter
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter softened
- 2 TBS honey (or to taste)
- 1/2 orange, zested
- a pinch of grey salt
Method:
Mush everything together in a bowl and then spread generously on your warm sun bread! Or any sweetish bread really.
