Bacon Buns

Baking Better Barbeque Buns



When I was in the hospital last August with a staph infection the intravenous antibiotics I was getting knocked me for a complete loop. I don't know why a drug would have this side-effect but apparently it's not that uncommon. I do know that I barely made it home in one piece (the hospital had no business releasing me to drive myself home) and I realized a couple of days later that "today" was Friday, not Thursday. In other words I'd lost a complete day in the hospital without knowing it.

I suppose this could be called jamais vu, meaning "never seen" in reference to my missing day, But jamais vu is actually reserved for that weird feeling of catching your own reflection in a mirror and momentarily failing to recognize yourself. At any rate jamis vu doesn't account for the feeling I got yesterday.

It was common-place to be planning the May issue, working with writers on the April issue, doing initial edits on the March issue, making final tweaks on the February issue, and have the January issue at the printer — all of this in December.

I was reflecting on the fact that this past week has been almost a total washout — I accomplished almost nothing and I was trying to figure out how to salvage the week. I was checking my calendar to figure out where I was most behind when I realized I wasn't behind, I was a week ahead. This feeling used to be common when I was editing a monthly magazine and had as many as four issues at various stages going at once with a fifth just arriving from the printer. It was common-place to be planning the May issue, working with writers on the April issue, doing initial edits on the March issue, making final tweaks on the February issue, and have the January issue at the printer — all of this in December. I loved that job, but it had its temporal challenges.

The result of my latest case of temporal confusion means I'm planning to go out to my parent's house on Sunday to barbeque a Boston Butt (for pulled pork) and some pork ribs for Father's Day. But Father's Day is still a week off as I write this — and I realized while I was panicking yesterday over a wasted week.

Not only have I already met all of next week's deadlines, but all but two of the following week's. This is exactly where I should be. Over the past 20 years as a professional writer I've learned that things can interfere with deadlines. And so I set my own deadlines a week in advance of my editors' deadlines. In all these years most things I've written have been submitted early, a few went in on time, and only two were ever late. And the week I spent in the hospital back in August had no effect on deadlines beyond the two weekly things I can't do two weeks in advance.

So tomorrow, a week early, I'm going out to my folk's celebrate Fathers' Day by barbequing. Today I applied dry rub to the pork and I've got my bacon buns rising. The bacon buns are something I came up with specifically for pulled pork sandwiches. Something with a bit more flavor and texture than the usual hamburger buns, but also complementary to the star of the show — the pork.

I think some whole-wheat flour is needed for both flavor and texture — but I've learned it's much less than I originally supposed. This time the proportion of wheat to white was less than 1 to 3. Slow rising and minimal yeast produce deeper and richer flavors and I have bias toward such flavor. But these characteristics also produce a tougher bread because the gluten is more developed. And I didn't want the bun to be so much an ingredient as a condiment — at least in this case. A quick single rise works best. For additional flavor bacon fat in the buns instead of the usual butter, is an excellent choice.

Bacon Buns
Makes 8 buns.

1 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c bacon fat
1 c whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 ea egg

Heat the milk, bacon fat, and water in a small saucepan until about 120F.

Mix together 2 cups flour, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Mix in milk mixture, followed by the egg.

Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time — switching to the dough hook after adding a cup and a half of flour. Knead for 8 minutes then turn out on a floured board and knead 2 or 3 minutes longer if required. Shape dough into a roll and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Form each piece into an oblong shape and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (you'll need two sheets). Spritz buns with a light coating of oil and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until slightly more than doubled in bulk.

While the buns are rising, heat the oven to 400F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate baking sheet 180 degrees. Bake another 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown.

Try these Bacon Buns with...
Pulled Pork
Potato Salad
Blackberry Ice Cream

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