I Made Buns!!!!

No more canon ball buns for me - these are the real deal! Thanks to my thoughtful mother-in-law who taught me this evening how to make buns, I now have some idea of how to do this. See?    

They're smooth, uniform in size, sooo soft - like they're a bun or something!  

Look! I can even SQUISH it ... 

...and it's so airy and soft it actually puffs right back to its original shape! Whoa. 

Here they are -aren't they beautiful? Uh-hem. ...Notice half the pan is empty? Yeah ... we ate them. Mmmmm.Hot. Buttery. Goodness..... 

Turns out what I had been doing wrong was ... everything. 

• Yes, you can put all ingredients in the bowl together, except the flour ( I did one at a time, mixing after each one)
• No, you don't need to 'dissolve yeast in water with sugar'. (I was following directions. Silly me)
• Yes, you add all flour at once. (I would add 2 cups, mix. add 2 cups mix. Apparently not necessary)
•  ... then she showed me what kneading is. "Oooooh! THAT'S what it is! I never did that! No wonder my buns never turned out!" I pretty much always skipped that part, because it was all I could do to get it to rise once - I sure didn't want to risk punching it down just to have it stay there! 
• No, you don't need to try to speed up the rising process by putting them in a 150 degree oven. That ruins it. Just in a bowl, in a sink with an inch of barely warm water, covered with a towel, and you're good. (or, if your house is warm, forget the water. I just happen to live in a fridge. ... I mean air conditioned home)

I'm SO excited that my M.I.L was kind enough to share her knowlege with me - and offer it, in fact! She knows I want to make buns, but have had no success to date. She's brought us dozens and dozens of her fantastic buns, and I've looked forward to every one. (and eat them immediately!) Now, ... I hope ... I'll be able to bake buns for my family and others too.  ... Of course, she's welcome to bring hers by anytime! 

Can I bake buns?  YES I CAN!! Thanks, mom-in-law!