Welcome to my Oscars’ Countdown! The past few years, I’ve done a tasting menu the night of the Oscars where I make as many installations as there are Best Picture Nominees. It all started as an idea in 2019, the morning of the Oscars, when I was nursing a hangover at a diner. I hastily scrambled during the day to buy all of the ingredients and make 8 different things that night, without ever watching one of the movies. Since 2020, I’ve made it my task to watch each nominee before coming up with a respective culinary offering. This year, though, I’m trying something a little different. Instead of posting everything the night of the big show, I’m going to lead up with daily posts, as well as two final posts on Sunday.
As I watched Women Talking, I began to dread what I was going to possibly make about such a depressing movie. This tasting menu series is meant to be a joyous celebration of the best picture nominees, and this was some depressing stuff. The movie starts off with a card that reads: “What follows is an act of female imagination.” While not giving anything away for those of you who haven’t seen the film yet (you can rent it on Amazon Prime), that statement is true in regards to a certain aspect of the film’s storyline. But, more critically, it obfuscates that the antagonistic theme in this movie is actually based upon a horrific and very true story, which occurred in a Bolivian Mennonite community. Moreover, the antagonistic theme is not that too unfamiliar throughout many oppressive sub-cultures throughout the world; i.e. this is isn’t solely a “Mennonite problem.”
But, back to the culinary portion of this blog post. Do I go “meta” and prepare something Bolivian, to help highlight the true origins of this fictional story? That wouldn’t work because Mennonites are really unto themselves. Rather than adapt to their local, cultural surrounds, they maintain their European cultural roots (the sect originates from Switzerland). They also, for the most part, do not use technology. So, how was I to find an authentic recipe? Even if I could find a recipe, what would I make? There were two food items that kept appearing in the movie: eggs and rolls. I did a little research and stumbled across this blog of a person who was raised by a Mennonite foster family. As he was caring for his aging mother, he uncovered several recipes and has now posted them to a blog for posterity. I found my in! So, here are Mennonite Milk Buns. They’re a lighter version of your standard dinner roll and great with butter or jam.
Mennonite Milk Buns
adapted from MennoNeechie Kitchen, Lance Cote
Eat these the same day they are made for best results. Otherwise, if you’d like a more shelf-stable recipe, use water instead of milk. This makes about 18 rolls.
1.5 cups milk, warmed to 110 degrees
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
3.5 cups AP flour (plus an additional ½ cup for roll prep)
¾ tsp salt
2 tbsp + 1 tsp of vegetable oil (plus more for roll prep)
1 egg lightly beaten
Combine the sugar and yeast in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over the warmed milk and whisk to dissolve the yeast. Set aside until frothy, 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, oil and lightly beaten egg in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, and mix on low speed for about a minute.
Pour in the yeasty mix, with the motor running on low, and continue to beat until just incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky, but remove the dough from the hook and briefly mix with one hand, incorporating any stuck bits from the bottom of the bowl.
Sprinkle the additional half-cup of flour over the dough mass. Place the dough hook back down into the dough and continue mixing on low speed.
Once the flour has been absorbed, increase the speed to medium-low and drizzle in some more vegetable oil, anywhere between 1-2 tsp. Keep mixing for about a minute, until the dough smooths out and no longer sticks to the side of the mixing bowl.
Remove the mixing bowl from the machine and drizzle another teaspoon or so over the dough and knead with your hands until you hear air pockets snapping. Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour, punching down the dough in 20 minute intervals.
Lightly grease a baking sheet, and pull out a heavy pinchful of dough, forming into a round (slightly larger than a golf ball) and place on the baking sheet, leaving an inch or so gap between the rolls. Cover with the kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.
With about 20 mins left in the second rise, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After the 2nd rise is complete, bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve. Goes great with butter or jam.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
Comments