Buttermilk Onion Pull-Apart Rolls

I made these rolls specifically for my father on Christmas Eve night. He loves onions. Actually, so does my brother Tom, who was also in attendance with his wife and three daughters. Rumor has is that when Tom as a toddler, my mother found him on the kitchen floor, eating an onion like an apple! He was quite the peculiar child. He, of course, takes after my father--Onion Man.

When I was a child, I observed other kid's dads sit in front of the TV and eat normal dad food: potato chips, nuts, cookies, etc. Not my dad. If he wasn't munching on pigs knuckles or chicken livers, he was eating slices of raw onion. Last summer when I took care of him for a couple of weeks after his hip surgery, I had to make him a plate of sliced raw onion to go along with his lunch and/or dinner. I guess some things never change.

And finally, for tshsmom in particular, please find the recipe for...

Buttermilk Onion Pull-Apart Rolls
Makes about 1 dozen

A note first: Too much onions. I followed this recipe to the T and even weighed the sliced and chopped onions. I think you could easily adjust this recipe for a pound or pound and a half and still have enough. See my picture below.



My suggestion is that you could spread about half as much on to the dough and it would work out better. Although the taste was great, having this many onions made rolling the dough and cutting the log very difficult.

The basic concept to the recipe is to spread the onion filling onto the rectangle of dough, which is rolled and then sliced. The rounds are then fit into a baking pan, and they puff up together with the second rise.



11 tablespoons (1 3/8 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for bowl, plus 5 tablespoons melted
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons warm water (105 to 110 degrees)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and rolling pin
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds sweet onions, such as Rio (1 1/2 pounds cut into 1/4-inch slices, 1/2 pound finely chopped)
1/8 teaspoon freshly gated nutmeg

1. Butter a 9-inch cake pan (I used 2 8-inch pans--all was fine) using 1 tablespoon softened butter. Butter a large bowl; set aside. Stir together yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl; let mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir until dissolved. Stir in buttermilk and egg.

2. Mix 2 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Make a well in the center. Pour in buttermilk mixture; mix to combine. Add 6 tablespoons softened butter; mix on medium-high speed until a soft dough forms, about 10 minutes.

3. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured work surface; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to buttered bowl. Cover dough with clean kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

4. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons softened butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions; raise heat to high, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let cool.

5. Punch down dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 17-by-10-inch rectangle, and brush with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Spread onions evenly over dough. Starting on 1 long side, roll dough into a log. Press seam to seal. Cut into about 12 slices, about 1 1/4 inches thick each. Arrange slices, cut sides up, in a buttered pan, and brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 50 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Immediately invert and unmold rolls onto a wire rack. Serve warm.