Best 3 Classic Crumb Buns Recipes

NEW YORK CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush a 9-by-12 1/2-inch baking pan with canola oil, dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.
• Transfer pan to oven, and bake, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Continue baking until a cake tester comes out clean, about 10 minutes more.
• Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Using a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut into 3-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

OLD-FASHIONED CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm milk, and 1 tablespoon sugar in bowl of mixer until yeast is dissolved, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Stir together lemon juice and remaining 3/4 cup milk and let stand until curdled, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 3 3/4 cups flour to yeast mixture along with salt, eggs, vanilla, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and mix at low speed until just combined. Add curdled milk and beat at medium speed until a dough forms. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating, then continue to beat until dough is silky and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Make topping:
• Pulse together topping ingredients in a food processor until many large clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, until ready to use.
• Form and bake cake:
• Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking dish or pan.
• Stir dough several times with a rubber scraper to release air, then spread evenly in baking dish.
• Sprinkle dough with half of topping, then cover dish with kitchen towel and let dough rise again in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Put oven rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sprinkle remaining topping over top of cake and bake until topping is golden, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack until barely warm, then cut into squares.

HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Prepare the baking sheets: Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush or spray the parchment with oil, then set aside.
• Portion the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place on the work surface. Use the heel of your hand to knock out the gas and deflate the risen dough, which will be quite firm. Using a kitchen scale and a bench scraper or a knife, portion the dough into 10 equal pieces. (Each piece will weigh about 113 grams.) If you don't have a kitchen scale, you can eyeball it.
• Form the buns: Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold it onto itself a few times to create a smooth surface, then gather the edges and pinch them together to form a smooth bundle of dough that looks like a garlic bulb. Place it seam-side down on the work surface and position your hand over the dough, palm barely touching the top and fingers lightly cupping it and resting on the work surface. Drag your hand - and the dough with it - slowly across the surface, moving it in small rapid circles. The friction between the dough and the surface will help tighten the dome so your buns will have a uniform, round shape. You shouldn't need to add flour, since the cold dough is easier to handle and less sticky, but if your dough is slightly warm or otherwise sticky, add just a bit of flour to make it easier to handle. Continue with all the pieces of dough, then arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 5 per sheet, spacing evenly.
• Proof the buns: The buns proof best in a humid environment, so use a spray bottle, if you have one, to lightly spritz the baking sheets with water, or just sprinkle some water around the buns with your fingertips. Loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap, then cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let sit at room temperature, undisturbed, until the buns have doubled in size and appear puffed and balloonlike, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, arrange one oven rack in the upper third and one in the lower third of the oven, then heat it to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl until no streaks remain, then set aside.
• Test the buns: To see if the buns are fully proofed, uncover one, lightly oil your finger, and poke the surface gently. It should feel filled with air, spring back and hold a slight indentation from your finger. If it doesn't, cover again and continue to let them rise, repeating the test every 10 or 15 minutes.
• Apply egg wash and bake the buns: Brush the surfaces of the proofed buns generously with the beaten egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds over top. Transfer the pans to the oven, one on each rack. Bake, rotating each pan 180 degrees and top to bottom after 13 minutes, until the buns are puffed and deeply browned, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets. Split horizontally with a serrated knife.