Feed your sweet tooth with these sticky treats

I took the bus to elementary school every day with Linda, my best childhood friend and next-door neighbor. We always sat together in the third row and shared our breakfasts-on-the-go. Most of the time I had buttered toast or a traditional bao (Chinese white steamed bun) — pretty boring. Linda’s mom often sent her with foil-wrapped packets of Pop-Tarts, which I could never get her to trade with me. She shared bites with me occasionally, but I longed to have my own, and I could never convince my mom to buy them. When I started baking professionally, I dreamed of all the things I would offer at my own bakery. Those childhood tarts were high on my list, and I thought if I made them from scratch, they could surpass the packaged supermarket version I remembered. I was right. The tarts we make at Flour get steady attention from both our customers and the press. Making them is similar to making ravioli, but even if you’ve never done that, you’ll find the process quite straightforward: First, you roll out flaky, buttery dough into a big sheet and score it into rectangles. Then, you spoon jam into the rectangles, lay another sheet of pastry dough on top, and press down to make little jam pockets. Finally, you cut the pockets apart and bake them to golden brown yumminess.

Pâte brisée I

Makes about 18 ounces dough, enough for 8 pop-tarts or one 9-inch double-crust or lattice-top pie

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer),mix together the flour, sugar, and salt for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top. Mix on low speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or just until the flour is no longer bright white and holds together when you clump it and lumps of butter the size of pecans are visible throughout.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk until blended. Add to the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough just barely comes together. It will look really shaggy and more like a mess than a dough.

Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface, then gather it together into a tight mound. Using your palm and starting on one side of the mound, smear the dough bit by bit, starting at the top of the mound and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface (at Flour we call this “going down the mountain”), until most of the butter chunks are smeared into the dough and the dough comes together. Do this once or twice on each part of the dough, moving through the mound until the whole mess has been smeared into a cohesive dough with streaks of butter.

Gather up the dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and press down to flatten into a disk about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Assembling homemade pop-tarts

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half. Press each half into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score 1 rectangle into eight 31/2-by-51/2-inch rectangles (about the size of an index card).

Brush the top surface of the entire scored rectangle with the egg. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the jam in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle. Lay the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first. Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other.

Using a knife, a pizza roller (easier), or a fluted roller (easier and prettier), and following the scored lines, cut the layered dough into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles, well spaced, on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pastries are evenly golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

To make the glaze: While the pastries are cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and enough of the water to make a smooth, pourable glaze. You should have about 1/2 cup. (The glaze can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

When the pastries have cooled for 30 minutes, brush the tops evenly with the glaze, then sprinkle with the rainbow sprinkles (if using). Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the glaze to set before serving.

The pastries can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Pop-Tarts is a registered trademark of Kellogg, Inc.

Excerpted from the book "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe" by Joanne Chang. Copyright © 2011 by Chronicle. All rights reserved.

Flour’s addictive sticky buns have been famous in Boston for years, but they received national attention in the summer of 2007, when they starred in an episode of the Food Network show "Throwdown With Bobby Flay." I went head-to-head with chef Flay in a sticky bun bake-off — in front of television cameras and a live audience of about one hundred customers at Flour. After we both finished baking our buns, an agonizing hour passed during which customers were quizzed about which buns they preferred, mine or chef Flay’s, and the judges did their evaluations. Flour’s sticky buns won! Many people wonder if television-show judging is fixed. But the visible sweat on my brow during that hour should assure them it definitely is not. These sticky buns are quite simply the stickiest, richest, gooiest, most decadent buns you’ll ever eat. We start them with a brioche dough base, fill them with sugar, pecans, and cinnamon, and then top them with copious amounts of a sticky caramel concoction called, naturally, goo. When you eat them, be sure to have plenty of napkins nearby.

To make the goo: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey, cream, water, and salt. Let cool for about 30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. You should have about 2 cups. (The mixture can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Divide the dough in half; use half for this recipe and reserve the other half for another use.

On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 16 by 12 inches and 1/4 inch thick. It will have the consistency of cold, damp Play-Doh and should be fairly easy to roll. Position the rectangle so a short side is facing you.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and half of the pecans. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Starting from the short side farthest from you and working your way down, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Try to roll tightly, so you have a nice round spiral. Even off the ends by trimming about 1/4 inch from each one.

Use a bench scraper or a chef’s knife to cut the roll into 8 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. (At this point, the unbaked buns can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, thaw them, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then proceed as directed.)

Pour the goo into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, covering the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the remaining pecans evenly over the surface. Place the buns, a cut side down and evenly spaced, 2-by-4 inches, in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to proof for about 2 hours, or until the dough is puffy, pillowy, and soft and the buns are touching.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the dish on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. One at a time, invert the buns onto a serving platter, and spoon any extra goo and pecans from the bottom of the dish over the top.

Excerpted from the book "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe" by Joanne Chang. Copyright © 2011 by Chronicle. All rights reserved.

An all-time favorite at Flour, these scones are rich, buttery, lemony, and filled with not one, not two, but three different kinds of ginger. As when making any kind of scones, it is important that the butter be straight from the refrigerator, so it is cold and firm and doesn’t mix completely into the dry ingredients. Those unmixed little pieces are what will make your scones light and flaky. Don’t skip the tart lemon glaze: it is easy to make and it takes the scone from delicious to truly sublime.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, ground ginger, crystallized ginger, and lemon zest on low speed for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is somewhat broken down and grape-size pieces are still visible.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, cream, egg, and grated ginger until thoroughly mixed. On low speed, pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour-butter mixture and beat for 20 to 30 seconds, or just until the dough comes together. There will still be a little loose flour mixture at the bottom of the bowl.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Gather and lift the dough in your hands and turn it over in the bowl, so that it starts to pick up the loose flour at the bottom. Turn the dough over several times until all of the loose flour is mixed in.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently roll it out about 1 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. Reroll the scraps and cut out more circles. You should have 10 circles. (At this point, the unbaked scones can be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week. Proceed as directed, baking directly from the oven and adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.) Place them on a baking sheet, spacing them 2 to 3 inches apart.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the scones are a light golden brown on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

To make the lemon glaze: While the scones are cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and enough lemon juice to make a smooth, thick, pourable glaze. You should have about 1/2 cup. (The glaze can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

When the scones have cooled for 10 to 15 minutes, brush the tops evenly with the lemon glaze, then serve.

The scones taste best on the day they are baked, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you keep them for longer than 1 day, refresh them in a 300-degree-F oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Or, you can freeze them, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week; reheat, directly from the freezer, in a 300-degree-F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Baker’s Bite

To make grating ginger easy, use a Microplane grater. It’s a fantastic kitchen gadget for pastry cooks to have on hand. For this recipe, it will effortlessly shred your knob of ginger into fine pieces that will add a heavenly perfume to the scones. A helpful hint for working with fresh ginger — whether you are using a Microplane, the fine holes on a more traditional box grater, or a knife — is to freeze the ginger overnight. Freezing changes its texture, making it less fibrous, so you get marvelous results whether you are grating or mincing it.

Excerpted from the book "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe" by Joanne Chang. Copyright © 2011 by Chronicle. All rights reserved.