I blame my recent weight gain on food writer Melissa Clark. In an article about a visit to San Francisco, she mentioned she had “eaten her weight in Morning Buns”.
What on earth is a Morning Bun? I had to know. A brief googling revealed a French connection! Morning buns, a specialty of the west coast, apparently, are a sort of caramely roll with a hint of orange, made from croissant dough. Then I read that they actually originated in France! False news, I think, as I’ve never seen a morning bun here. I think the real story is, a French restaurant in Wisconsin made them to use up their leftover croissant dough, and they spread from there.
I was intrigued by the name. Maybe because it’s like getting permission to eat such a delicious thing in the morning, instead of boring cereal?
And so began my Morning Bun experiment. Now maybe you are the type of person who jumps up at 6 am to make homemade croissant dough. I have a step-daughter like that, but sadly we do not share baking genes.
And so I was off to my local boulangerie, where I asked if I might buy some raw and ready-to-cook croissant dough. Whereupon they gave me the familiar “uh-oh, another crazy American” look and told me they would discuss it and get back to me within a few days. Which they did not.
Undeterred, I went to a second boulangerie, where I got the same look. But after disappearing for a lengthy consultation with the baker, Madame told me I could buy some sur commande (special order) so I arranged to pick it up later in the week. (I tried to explain the Morning Bun concept to her, but I got that look again).
I found several recipe for Morning Buns, all a bit different, so I stole from all of them, of course skipping the whole step of making the dough, so there was like ten minutes of prep time.
Anyway the photos with the recipes I read showed these perfectly shaped pinwheels (see above, from the Brown Eyed Baker), since you do the final rise in a muffin pan. Not possible since my dough was flat and never rose. So mine were messy, flat, misshapen things, which were so good that we each scarfed up three of them in one go, and had polished off the whole lot by the end of the day. So much for a healthy breakfast. Photo: my Morning Buns, flat and flat-out tasty.
Ron suggests I make more and take a few to Monsieur le boulanger to sample, just for fun. Hey, already I’ve outsourced the dough, maybe I can talk them into making the buns for me! But will a French country baker embrace a California recipe? There’s always a first time! Or not.
Though it's probably heresy, I’ve since developed a Southern Fried French LAZY morning bun recipe. I used biscuit dough instead of croissant dough. Still light and flaky and pretty good, though there are those who would argue they are more like a cinnamon roll. Still, it took me all of about 12 minutes to whip them up (you DO have your biscuit recipe memorized, don’t you?).
And so, Dear Readers, choose your recipe, as I have included both, and I await your comments/improvements/Morning Bun experiences.
RECIPE: Real French Morning Buns
If you’re a baker, you will make your own dough. Of course I have not tried it myself. There is a good from-scratch Morning Bun recipe here from the Brown Eyed Baker, but below is what I did.
I asked the boulanger for dough for 4 croissants. (It would have been a good idea to ask them exactly what to do with it from there, but I didn’t think of that). He gave me a rectangle about 8 x 10” (20×25 cm). It made about a dozen small buns. They were not puffed up like a croissant, though they were quite flaky. I’m sure some of you who actually know how to bake will be able to tell me what I should have done with this dough.
Croissant dough is layered so I pulled it apart and spread it out on the counter, then rolled it out just a little so I had a rectangle of about 12 by 18”. The dough should be well chilled when you do this. Zest one large orange and have your zest at the ready.
For the filling: Melt half a stick of butter in a pan on low heat, then stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and a generous pinch of cardamon. Stir well until everything is mixed together and bring it just to a simmer. (Do not turn your back for a minute or two, and let the mixture bubble away, unless you want to make some very hard caramel candy. Had to start over). Remove from heat and set aside to to cool.
Brush the caramel over the whole surface. Sprinkle it all with the orange zest. Roll it up, starting with the shorter side, using the plastic wrap to lift and roll. Put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Then pre-heat oven to 350.
Unwrap dough and cut it into buns with a sharp knife, about 1” thick, and place them on a sheet pan, a couple of inches apart. (Try them in a muffin tin, if you have dough that might rise properly). Optional: brush with a little melted butter and sprinkle with raw or regular sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. You will find that the caramel has oozed out somewhat onto the pan. This is a good thing, as it makes a nice layer of caramel on the bottom of the buns. With a spatula, remove immediately to a plate. Eat the whole plate-full, they’re not as good the next day. Or at least I imagine not.
RECIPE: SFF Faux Morning Buns
Photo left: they may not LOOK like Morning Buns, but they work for me!
Make biscuits—your recipe, or try mine (these days I substitue 1/2 cup of a farine céréale for 1/2 cup of the white flour, which is wheat flour with some interesting seeds mixed in. I like the slight nuttiness it gives). Zest an orange.
Roll out the dough as thin as you can get it. Brush top with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup raw sugar or white sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Add 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans if you like, because we're not aiming for authenticity here. Roll up, from the long side, and slice, 3/4" thick. Nestle them close together on a cookie sheet.
Bake about 15-18 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and cool just while you make the glaze.
Put 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar (that’s icing sugar, to you Brits) in a bowl with the orange zest. Stir in some orange juice, a little at a time, until it’s glazing consistency. Glaze buns and serve. If there's any left the next day, they're best reheated.
BAKING TIP: When I roll out biscuits, I have une astuce (a tip) for easy clean-up. Throw a few drops of water on your counter, then smooth out a large piece of plastic wrap over that. Pat or roll out your biscuits, and when you’re done, just fold up the plastic wrap. Instant clean counter!
In the COMMENTS: As might be expected, we got some interesting comments on last week's "pissing contest", and I loved reading them. Fiona cracked me up with the pee-spotting car game, as did Cynthia's P signs. Most folks reacted like Martin–at first it's a bit shocking, but you get to the "French shrug" stage after a while. Natalia and Vicky have some French stories to share too.
Favorite READS: Do take a moment to visit our reader Fiona's blog, Made in a Muddle. This month she visited the Pays de La Loire, and she's got lots of photos.
18 thoughts on “Rethinking Le Petit Déjeuner: The Mystery of the Morning Buns”
What a tasty coincidence! There is a little French bakery not far from my house and one of their offerings is a “morning roll”. I thought it was something they just made up, having no idea it was a French pastry. They use only cinnamon and sugar to flavor their rolls. I attempted my own version using puff pastry because I had some in the freezer . . . not bad but very flaky. I like your idea of buying croissant dough from the baker and think I’ll see if my boulangerie will sell me some of Theirs. I also love your suggestion of using orange zest. Mmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it!
Can’t wait for your Southern Fried French cook book just to read all the stories.
I remember my first morning bun. It was (I think) in the mid 1970’s when Odessa Piper (friend and disciple of Alice Waters) ran a French restaurant on State St. in Madison, Wisconsin called L’Escargot. Ms. Piper later went on to found a restaurant called L’Etoile in Madison where everything still is “locally sourced, organic, etc.”. She sold the restaurant some years ago to Tory Miller who carries on her tradition of excellence.
Morning buns are available in Madison at La Brioche, a restaurant temptingly close to my home.
A plate of morning buns and a pot of strong coffee sounds like a perfect way to start the day!! Thanks Lynn!!
The orange zest is the key here, in my opinion. I actually prefer a savory breakfast, but I’d break that habit for one of these for sure. Thanks, Lynn
Ah,yes,the pounds are galloping through the door at top speed,just waiting to attach themselves on me!
But what a way to get fat(ter)!
Lynn,these are heaven!!
THANK YOU!!
A possilbe thought for those of us here in the US who might not be able to get croissant dough from a French bakery:Williams Sonoma sells frozen croissants that you thaw,rise and bake. I wonder if using that dough might work?(failures gobbled up anyway!)
These all look and sound scrumptious Lynn. I’ll try the recipes and then decide which I prefer. No doubt, I’ll have not only morning buns but all day buns added to my bum.
I’d never heard of morning buns before Lynn… and I am definitely not a 6am dough maker! In fact I’ve only ever made dough once…(hangs head in shame.) I can almost taste these and who cares what they look like as long they are delicious.
Thank you so much for the shout out, that was very kind.
Bon weekend.
I can hardly wait to try making these Lynn. They sound and look absolutely fabulous. Sharing your recipes with family and friends when we return to the States. Not yet courageous enough to request the croissant dough from a Collioure boulangerie and sadly no oven to bake them in, in our current rental. Bon weekend et merci.
Oh, we discovered these at our favorite Saturday market here in Sydney! They are wonderful. Light and flavorful. The funny thing is that we can’t remember which baker we get them from, the Sonoma bakery, or one of the French ones!
My favorite bakery in Louisville, Breadworks, recently had what they called a Carmel apple Croissant. It looked flat like your morning buns, but was not a pinwheel, and not a bun. It looked more like a Danish with the filling inside flat pastry. Good. Same idea?
Question: what shortening do you use for your biscuits?
Here in Greenville SC., the Bake Room sells great Morning Buns at theSaturday market.William Sonoma sells froZen morning Buns from Galaxy Bakery.
Stopped by this morning to see if I could buy some croissant dough . . . the answer was no! Rats!
Lynn, I decided to try the biscuit way except I used Pillsbury frozen biscuits from the bag (not the ones in a can). I let the biscuits thaw and then patted them with my hand. I added the sugar mixture with chopped pecans and orange zest. Then I rolled each biscuit,cut into halves and placed in a cupcake pan. I used the oven time & temp from the biscuit bag. They were light and very good, except now I am not light with tighter jeans. Thanks for all of your delicious posts. Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
Morning buns originated at the ‘Ovens of Brittany’ in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a much loved restaurant and its morning buns were famous. The morning buns are carried on at La Brioche by one of the original folks at Ovens of Brittany. They have proliferated wildly, not just locally, but apparently around the country. I find this amazing. Morning buns are rich in their combination of external crunch and the buttery soft insides, the combination of sugar and butter is wildly fattening and yummy and very addictive. There is nothing better with a hot cup of really good coffee.
I lived in Madison from 1974 through 1981, ate morning buns as often as I could, and, even after moving far away, stopped in Madison whenever possible to buy a dozen or more at the Shorewood location. Eating at the Baker’s Rooms/Ovens was an education in how food was supposed to taste.
The Ovens of Brittany in Madison began the morning bun. Accept no other stories!