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Saturday in Betty's Kitchen


My daughters came to spend Saturday with me. What a special treat. I don't have a routine for Saturdays so am ready to have different things happen. We decided we would bake buns and while the dough was rising we chatted and laughed, just enjoyed being together.


When the dough had risen Alison punched it down. She remembered that I had let her do this when she was little. And you can tell she enjoyed doing it again. I would also give them each a ball of dough and they could form a small pan of their own buns which sometimes took the shape of little teddy bears. We laughed about that as sometimes the dough took on a grayish look when they were done. She talked about the memories of the smell of fresh baking wafting throughout the house and of eating the buns hot from the oven with butter melting into them. Another memory, that I let the buns rise in the sunshine by the  living room window and that they had to be careful as they ran around in there so they wouldn't knock them over. 


When baking buns for my family many years ago I would always bake a pan of sugar buns as a special treat on baking day. My Mom used to do the same when I was a little girl, although she did not add cinnamon to the sugar. I continued the tradition for my children and my grandchildren. It still is a favorite and they are best hot from the oven.
Sometimes I made fry bread, taking pieces of dough, flattening them out and deep frying them. Very good with Roger's syrup. They can also be shaken up in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon which I found out much later that they are quite popular and known as beaver tails.


The sugar buns have risen and are ready to bake. The tea towel belonged to my mother. I treasure these things from another generation.


Here is Brenda taking the first pan of buns from the oven. She is enjoying the wonderful aroma of fresh buns. She remembers that she could hardly wait to have buns hot from the oven with butter and Roger's syrup. As a little girl she had always wondered why the buns I formed were so much smoother than hers, she just couldn't get them looking as smooth, later on she realized that probably her little hands just couldn't form them properly. Another thing she remembered was that the dough had to make a 'peep' sound when done kneading. When I was first married the first few batches of buns just didn't turn out very well and a friend of mine told me what she did and one of the things she told me was that the dough had to make 'peep sounds' when it was finished kneading. (squeak sounds from the air bubbles that form in the dough while kneading, thank you Frieda)
This Saturday we enjoyed the buns hot from the oven with a bowl of summer borsht that had been simmering on the stove.
We had a very fun day together, thank you to my dear daughters.
Now you want to bake buns too right?  Here is my recipe for Einback / White Buns.
We are planning more Saturdays together in the kitchen.

34 comments:

  1. I would like to have the recipe for these buns. They look so very good.

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    1. Check in the recipe index..baking with yeast. You will find the recipe for the buns, called Einbacks(Plain Buns).

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    2. I found it. Thank you so very much. I will try these soon. They look delicious.

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    3. I see neither EInback nor Plain Buns. How am I missing it?
      -Colleen

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    4. Would love the recipe, too! Looked in the advised category but did not find it!-(

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    5. Sorry about that..the recipe should have been there. If you type it into the search button you will find it.

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  2. Yes please, Betty, share the recipe - the buns look so yummy!

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  3. Your daughters are beautiful, just like you. And those buns look sooo good, I can almost smell them. My mom made them, too, when I was growing up. But, alas, that tradition stopped with her.

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  4. Great story! I've been looking forward to each new "Saturday in the Kitchen" post. Great idea, girls.

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  5. I still have trouble forming nice rolls...would appreciate some tips on how to do that properly! :-) This looks like a fun day for all!

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  6. What an absolutely beautiful way to spend the day! Thanks for sharing.


    Velva

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  7. What a nice way to spend a Saturday with your daughters. Thank for sharing. I'd like the recipe for the buns too and would also like to know what you mean by the dough had to make a peep sound when done keading.

    Ursula

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  8. Count me in on the wanting the bun recipe---they look so yummy I can almost smell them. :) What beautiful women you three are. :)

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    1. Angie, you can find Betty's recipe at the bottom of the post now and it is also under Mennonite Recipes and also Baking with Yeast.

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  9. Oh how wonderful...I keep thinking I am smelling these. I did some bread baking back years ago and look forward to it again when I get to retire. This is a lovely post with 3 lovely ladies!

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  10. The sugar buns, the fried bread and the peep sound are all my memories too. However, the peep sound was referred to as squeaking.

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  11. Am loving these Saturdays in the kitchen stories. They bring back many memories... the dough had to squeak when kneading was enough...yes! I had forgotten about the flattened dough deep-fried and eaten with Roger's syrup for lunch on a Saturday... what a treat that always was! My Mom always baked buns on Saturdays. Now at 92 1/2, she still baked buns for Christmas even though she was struggling with bronchitis, and then she baked buns again for the weekend of Feb 4th when it would have been my Dad's birthday although he'd passed on to glory just a few weeks previously. She thought maybe it would be the last time she'd ever bake buns... I think she'll bake more yet. She is known for her wonderful buns and we family have benefited on many an occasion.

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  12. My mom used to do the same things with me when I was little. She would give be a piece of dough will she was forming her zwieback and I would make a teddy bear (it would also have a grey tinge to it). I remember her frying up some of the dough for a treat and we would eat it with homemade raspberry jam. Thanks for the memories. Sure do miss my mom.

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  13. I used to make bread animal with my Mom's roll dough as well, she would give me currants & cloves to make eyes...I would make coiled up snake-buns with clove eyes.We had apricot and plum trees on our property, so the fresh rolls were always served with these preserves...it took me a long time to realize that not one of my friends had this experience growing up in Southern California (being transplants from Manitoba).I'm really grateful for all the "special" Mennonite foods and cooking traditions my Mom continued for us...we were truly a unique family in our community of Laguna Beach, CA.Butchering our own chickens, baking our own bread, inviting folks home for Faspa on Sundays after church for Summer sausage, rolls, and date bars...thanks Mom!!

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  14. What a wonderful story, it made my morning!

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  15. Oh Betty what a great story!! And sisters do think alike, I too baked buns including some sugar buns today! My sons absolutely love them. Humm...wonder if the tradition will continue???
    You mentioned the peep sound, how ironic while kneading the dough today it did "peep" and immediately brought back special memories of the times when I would watch Mom knead dough.
    Love ya sis!

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  16. I love the Saturdays in the kitchen posts. It confirms that I'm following "real cooks" MGCC is so life affirming. May God bless you all. Angharad

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  17. I too remember doing this with my mom. Mom would fry some of the dough to have for lunch with freshly cooked pinto beans with browned onions in a bit of oil. Mom used to call them 'Jietz kuchen'.
    Good memories. Thanks so much for the walk down memory lane :)

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  18. oh shoot! I totally forgot about the special pan of sugar/cinnamon buns that mom would make on Satur"bun"day. My kids are teenagers and have never had them. I will definately make a pan of those this week, when I make buns. Thanks for the reminder.

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  19. Three beautiful women sharing a wonderful day! Thank you for sharing it with all of us, as well :)

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  20. I am so enjoying these Saturday Kitchen posts!! What a great day you had with your beautiful girls, reminiscing, baking, enjoying each other's company!! Your daughters have wonderful memories. I wish I had done more baking with my daughter when she was young. Thanks for sharing this heart warming post today Betty!

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  21. I am thoroughly enjoying your Saturday posts, it is just wonderful getting to know a little more about you. Your daughters are beautiful!! I just love hearing about family traditions, thank you.

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  22. It sounds like you had a perfect day with your lovely daughters. Such a heartwarming post!

    My Mom used to make the fried bread, too. She called them "jiggers". My son has warm memories of grandma making them for him on snow days when she would babysit. They both put peanut butter on their jiggers.

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  23. Didn't see the roll recipe can't wait to try them they look wonderful. Can anyone guide me to the recipe It was not listed

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    1. Type in Einbacks(Plain Buns) in the recipe search button to find the bun recipe.

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    2. The recipe has been added now to Yeast Baking. It was under Mennonite Recipes before. It is also at the bottom of the post now.

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  24. I am not familiar with Roger's syrup. Must be a Canadian product and I live in California. I'll look for it when we go to Manitoba this summer.

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    1. Yes it is a Canadian product. I remember my Mom always had it in her pantry and now it is a staple in mine!

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  25. Oh my! Fresh buns with Rogers golden syrup was our go to at Omas Sunday afternoon. Even in Ontario we loved Rodgers; I still buy it by the litre.

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