Maple Spoon Bread Recipes

Steps:

• For the spoon bread:.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Divide evenly between aluminum tins or individual ramekins, then cover with maple topping. Bake until the centers are firm, approximately 8-10 minutes.
• For the Maple Topping: Combine syrup and melted butter.
• For the Maple Sauce: Combine cream and syrup.
• For the apple topping: Peel and slice the apple. Heat a small sauté pan and add butter, apples and sugar. Sauté until it reaches a medium caramel color.
• To finish: Unmold the spoon bread, top with the maple sauce and finish with warm apples.

Steps:

• Place milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan and scald. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water along with the sugar. Set aside for five minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast mixture and then stir in the egg.
• Stir in two cups of the flour. Then add more flour about one-half cup at a time until a ball of dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about eight minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil on all sides, cover lightly and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.
• Punch down dough, turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for another minute or so. Roll dough into a rectangle about nine by 12 inches, then roll tightly, jellyroll fashion, starting from the narrow side. Pinch the seam and ends closed. Fit the dough seam side down into a greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch baking pan.
• Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in the oven and bake about 45 minutes, until well browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool freely on a rack before slicing.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt on low speed to blend. Add eggs, 2 tablespoons syrup and 3 tablespoons warm water, and beat on low speed until the mixture comes together. Switch to the dough hook and beat on low speed. While beating, add 3/4 cup/1 1/2 sticks softened butter, a few pieces at a time, until fully incorporated. Continue beating, scraping bowl and hook occasionally, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If the dough doesn't come together easily after a few minutes and remains shaggy, dry, or tough, add warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a smooth, soft ball.)
• Lightly butter a large bowl. Turn dough into bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Gently press the dough down. If it feels very soft or greasy, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firmer, about 15 minutes and up to 1 day.
• When ready to assemble, melt remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until dairy solids turn golden brown and butter smells nutty. While stirring, add remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1 teaspoon salt in a steady stream. Bring to a boil, stirring, then remove from the heat.
• Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Butter a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan. Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and roll into a 2-inch thick rope. Cut into 8 even pieces, then cut each of those pieces into 8 pieces for 64 pieces total.
• Gently roll a piece into a ball and drop in cinnamon sugar. Repeat until you have a single layer of balls at the bottom of the bowl. Shake the bowl to evenly coat the balls with the cinnamon sugar. Put the sugared balls in the pan and repeat until you have a single layer in the pan. Scatter some pecans all around. Repeat until all the balls and pecans are in the pan. Drizzle the brown butter syrup all along the sides of the pan and over the top of the balls. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until puffed and an inch away from the top of the pan, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pan and bake until golden brown on top, 35 to 40 minutes. Put pan on a wire rack and let stand for 5 minutes. Center a large plate over the pan, grip the plate and pan together, and quickly and carefully flip both together. Carefully lift off the pan. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make the tangzhong: In a medium pot, whisk together the bread flour and milk until relatively smooth. Set over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens into a texture not unlike mashed potatoes or grits, 2 to 3 minutes. You may see lumps at first, but as you continue to whisk and the flour cooks, your mixture will smooth out.
• Make the bread: Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the cream until smooth, which will cool down the mixture and add some necessary fat. To the creamy mixture, add 4 cups/576 grams bread flour, the maple syrup, egg, salt and yeast, and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you can no longer see any streaks of egg or flour. Cover the pot with a lid and let sit in a warm place to proof and hydrate until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• To knead by hand, keep ½ cup/72 grams bread flour next to you. Dust a clean work surface with some of the flour and turn the dough out onto the surface. Dust some more flour on top of the dough and on your hands, and knead the dough into a ball using both hands. As you start to feel the dough get sticky, add more of the flour. The goal here is to not use more than that ½ cup of flour to knead the dough and, at the same time, to develop enough gluten in it so that it's no longer sticky, 5 to 7 minutes. Alternatively, knead with a stand mixer: Transfer the dough from the pot to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead on medium-low speed for 15 minutes; it will become pretty sticky and cling to the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Dust some more flour on top of the dough and on your hands, and form the dough into a ball using both hands, adding more flour as needed.
• Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Cut the dough in half with a knife, then flatten each piece using your hands, pulling the corners of each piece up and over the center, all around, so that you're creating two tight balls. Twist the pulled-up edges to seal and turn the balls over so their smooth sides are facing up. Nestle the two balls side by side in the pan and let sit, covered with a clean kitchen towel, in a warm place in your kitchen until the dough balls have risen an inch above the rim of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread until the crust is dark brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 185 to 190 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before taking out the bread and slicing into it. (Technically it should cool completely, but come on: There's nothing like the glorious experience of tearing into a fresh, warm loaf of sweet milk bread.) The bread will keep for up to 3 to 4 days in a closed container at room temperature.