Blackberry Skillet Overnight Buns
These delicious soft blackberry skillet overnight buns are filled with a simple, homemade blackberry jam and can be made with either spelt or all-purpose (plain) flour. The dough can be prepared in a bread machine or stand mixer and is left to proof for a second time overnight in the fridge. The following morning, just pop them in the oven for a delicious breakfast or brunch.
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| Overnight proofing in the fridge |
| Using a skillet for overnight buns |
| Can I use a bread machine to make the dough? |
| Other recipes made in a skillet |
This recipe for blackberry skillet overnight buns was originally published on my former blog, The Culinary Jumble.
Overnight proofing in the fridge
There’s something fundamentally awesome about overnight buns. You wake up in the morning and there you have it: buns already made with the tiresome hard work long behind you. The only thing left to do is pop them in the oven and then devour them.
At first glance, resting your buns (or any other kind of bread dough) in a fridge seems counterproductive. We all know that yeast needs a lovely, humid place to work its magic. But overnight in a cold environment really does work. Not only that, but a long, overnight proof actually seems to improve the flavour of the bread. These buns have already had a regular proof (whether that’s in a bread machine or in a warm place), so the time in the fridge is more of a resting period, which allows the flavours to really develop.
Using a skillet for overnight buns
My other secret love is skillets. I am so much of a huge fan that I started my own Pinterest board called Skillet Love. Pretty much anything can be cooked or baked in a cast iron pan. Not only that, but they might have some surprising benefits you might not have thought of, as Delish divulges in their 12 reasons why you should be using a cast iron skillet.
I’ve got to be honest and say that I used mine for this recipe purely for aesthetic reasons. The buns look so pretty in a circle, and the cast iron just added another dimension when I was taking the photos. If you don’t have a skillet, just use a round pan (if you want the buns in the same shape), or a large oven dish. However you normally bake your buns, really.
Can I use a bread machine to make the dough?
Most of my bread recipes have the option to use both a bread machine to make the dough and a stand mixer. Of course, a seasoned baker can prepare the dough by hand, if they prefer. I have some sensitivity issues, and I am not a fan of kneading by hand.
I use my stand mixer and bread maker interchangeably, and both methods produce the same result. Off on a slight tangent, if you’ve ever had issues with baking spelt loaves in a bread machine, my guide, wholegrain spelt: which is the best bread machine cycle might be an interesting read for you.
Other recipes made in a skillet
I’ve already touched upon how versatile skillets can be, and here are some of my favourite ways of using them in the kitchen:
- Cinnamon bun monkey bread
- Skillet blackberry apple oat crunch
- Giant skillet cinnamon bun
- Cheddar soda bread
- Caramel apple and blueberry Swedish Smulpaj (crumble)
- Mushroom stroganoff
- Potato and tomato omlette
- Sweet eggy bread
Blackberry Skillet Overnight Buns (Bread Machine)
Ingredients
Blackberry Filling:
- 200g (7 oz) blackberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbs sugar
Dough (see note 1):
- 250ml (1 cup) milk
- 1 egg (medium)
- 50g (3½ tbs) butter (chopped into small pieces)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 400-450g (3⅓ - 3¾ cups) spelt flour (see note 2)
- 4 tbs sugar
- 7g (2¼ tsp) dried yeast (see note 3)
- pinch salt
Drizzle:
- icing sugar (as much as needed)
- 1 tbs water
Instructions
BLACKBERRY FILLING:
- In a pan, heat the blackberries, vanilla, and sugar together.
- Cook on a medium heat for around 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the berries are soft.
- Set to one side, and allow to cool completely.
DOUGH:
Bread Machine:
- Add the milk, egg, butter and olive oil to your bread machine pan.
- Then add 400g (3⅓ cups) of flour, and the remaining dough ingredients, taking care to keep the yeast and salt separate as much as possible.
- Set your machine to make dough.
- On a very well-floured surface (the dough will be very sticky) work in just as much flour as you need to make a soft, pliable, but still a little tacky, dough. Form into a rough ball.
Stand Mixer:
- Add the milk, egg, butter and olive oil to your stand mixer, and mix together. If the butter is straight out of the fridge, it won't combine with the other wet ingredients too much, but that's okay.
- Add 420g (3½ cups) of flour, and the remaining ingredients. The dough should be sticky, but add as much flour as needed, a little at a time. Be careful: too much flour will result in dry bread.
- Switch to a dough hook (if you have one) and allow the mixer to knead the dough for around 10 minutes, just until soft. The dough will still feel a little tacky to the touch, but will be able to slowly drop off the hook.
- Cover the dough and leave to proof (until it has doubled in size - usually about an hour).
- When the dough is ready, knock it back, and on a floured surface, form into a rough ball.
FOR BOTH METHODS:
- Roll the dough out into a long rectangular shape with the shorter sides about half the length of the longer sides. Have the shorter length towards you. Most methods for making buns usually state that you should roll the long side; however, this time, I wanted super thick buns and did it this way for that reason.
- Spread the blackberry mixture all over the dough, leaving approximately a 1cm edge all the way round.
- Very carefully, roll up from the edge facing you, as tight as you can, until you have a fat roll. Place the seam facing down.
- Slice into 6 or 8 buns (depending on how large you want them).
- Grease a fairly small skillet or baking dish.
- Place the buns very close to each other. There should be space for all of them to fit in but it will be a squeeze. This forces the bread to rise up rather than spread out, resulting in higher buns.
- Overnight buns: cover the buns with clingfilm, and place in the fridge. In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400℃) and allow the buns to come up to room temperature (I usually sit the dish on top of my oven as it's heating up).
- If baking immediately: pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400℃). Cover the buns with a tea-towel, and leave them to rest for around 30 minutes.
- Bake for around 20 minutes. Don't be alarmed if some of them really pop up and the blackberries ooze out - it's all part of the charm. The buns are ready when they are a nice golden brown colour on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a while.
DRIZZLE:
- Mix one tablespoon of water with just enough icing (powdered) sugar to achieve the desired consistency (mine was quite runny and needed less sugar but you might prefer a more frosting-like consistency).
- Drizzle or spread all over the buns and serve while they are still slightly warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- I have made the dough using both a stand mixer and bread machine with identical results. I have not made the dough by hand, but I see no reason why you couldn't do so!
- You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount).
- In Sweden we have something called dried yeast. It is used both in warm liquid and allowed to proof, and it is also added directly to flour. I am aware that the US has two options for dried yeast, and I believe instant yeast is the most similar to our dried yeast.
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