lemon curd brioche bun

Growing up, my breakfast wasn't the typical cereal and juice. Instead, I had pineapple buns and red bean swirl bread. I think my love for bread started out very young. Finding a left over bag of lemons, I began googling anything lemon and bread related. Finally deciding to take a stab at making a filled bread bun. Luckily, my Cooks Illustrated cookbook has a recipe for a quick brioche dough, perfect for turning into buns rather than the typical brioche a tete.

The brioche recipe was probably one of the more simply and less time consuming bread recipes I've experimented with over the last year. The original recipe only required one rise! Unheard of in bread baking, I thought, but how could Cooks Illustrated do me wrong? And of course, Cooks Illustrated is virtually never wrong, since the bread did come out super soft and texturally authentic to is French heritage.

The lemon curd was just a bit tangy for the barely sweet bread. Tasting the curd alone was fine, but when paired with the brioche, it overpowered the subtle buttery flavor. I would suggest adding a bit more sugar to the curd to ensure a better balanced bread bun. For a first try in filled buns, it was still a delightful breakfast item with a perky tangy bite.

Lemon Curd from Cooks Illustrated


1/4 cup lemon juice
3/8 cup sugar
small pinch of salt
1 large egg plus 1 1/2 large yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

Heat lemon juice, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling, about 1 minute.

Whisk egg and egg yolks together in a medium bowl, then slowly whisk in hot lemon mixture to temper. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and 170 degrees.

Off heat, stir in butter until melted and incorporated. Press plastic wrap to surface and chill.

Quick Brioche adapted from Cooks Illustrated


1/2 cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
2 1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
2 1/4 cups AP flour
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Whisk milk and yeast together in medium bowl, then stir in 1 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Pulse butter, sugar, and salt in food processor until mixture is soft and smooth, about 5 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, and process after each addition until fully incorporated. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and yeast-flour mixture, pulse until mixture forms soft, smooth dough, then process continuously for 15 seconds. Transfer dough to well-floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth and elastic ball. Transfer to oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until about doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Assemble and Bake


Scrape out dough and cut into six pieces. Form a piece into a ball and flatten slight to prepare for filling. Spoon about a tbsp of the chilled curd in the center and wrap dough around to form a filled ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover lightly for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through.

grilled beef rolls

With the available recipe choices narrowing, I realize I'm having a harder time finding a corresponding recipe to the ingredients in my refrigerator. Finally, I had a leftover bag of small sweet peppers from a recent dinner. These were perfect to julienne into strips for this application, since they were short to begin with, reducing the chance of wasting food. However, regular bell peppers are fine as well, just make sure you trim the length. I love simple recipes, and this one is definitely one of the simplest in the book, requiring only a few ingredients. All I had to buy was the meat, which I substituted a sirloin steak for the original beef tenderloin.

The vibrant colors of the peppers were beautiful, and since we eat with our eyes first, they definitely poke interest through the thin slice of beef. My strips were just right in terms of length. If using regular sized bell pepper, you may want to trim each strip in half. As with most recipes, mise en place is crucial for the assembly of these rolls.

A word of advice when toothpicking the rolls: skewer in the same direction as the seam and peppers. As seen in the above picture, I skewered in every direction, thinking it wouldn't make a significant difference, especially since the photo in the book has the toothpicks perpendicular. I was wrong. Having the toothpick in the same direction as the peppers is more conducive to cooking, allowing all sides of the beef opportunity to sear on the grill. I found the perpendicular rolls undercooked on two sides due to the toothpick.

Pounding the beef thin allowed for it to remain tender with quick cooking over the grill. I purposely under seasoned, given that we intake too much sodium as it is and after hearing reports of how high sodium intake can harm our health. In that regard, I served it with a side of the sauce, in case it needed an extra oomph. The beef gave way to sweet and crisp peppers all in one bite. This was finger food with an Asian flair, reminiscent of Japanese enoki and beef rolls.

Grilled Beef Rolls with Scallion Soy Dipping Sauce

makes 2 1/2 dozen

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin steak, well trimmed

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 scallions, green tops cut into 3-inch lengths and sliced lengthwise; whites cut into 1/8-inch rings

12 small sweet peppers (4 each of red, orange, and yellow), trimmed, seeded, and cut into long, thin matchsticks

1 tsp olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and the brown sugar until dissolved; set aside. Slice the steak into 4, 1/4-inch, slices. Trim off any fat or connective tissue. Place 1 slice between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat pounder, evenly pound out the slice, keeping it roughly rectangular, until it is 1/8-inch thick. Do not overpound or they will disintegrate. Remove the plastic wrap, cut into 2x4 inch pieces, and transfer to a large plate. Continue with remaining slices.

Brush 1 slice of beef with the soy sauce mixture and place it on a clean surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place 2 pieces of scallion green and 1 piece of each pepper across the shorter length of the beef. Roll up lengthwise, and skewer along the seam with one toothpick. Repeat with remaining beef and vegetables.

Lightly brush a grill pan with olive oil and heat until hot. Grill the beef rolls, turning until medium rare, 2-4 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring the remaining sauce to a boil for 3-5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and add scallion rings.