So when I went to high school I met a girl and we quickly became best friends. She was short and blonde. I was tall and dark. We were opposites in a lot of ways but we hit it off. One thing that we both had in common was our love of cooking. Her mom was a great baker and cook and so was my mom. We graduated high school (after spending a lot of time together through out it – and her teaching me things like steering a car from the passenger seat while she put on her mascara in the driver’s seat) and we were roommates for a while too. Love her a lot. She made a big impact in my life. Among other things, she first introduced me to Butterhorns. It was something her mother made. And I LOVED them. Fast forward 20 years and she posts a picture of a butter horn on Facebook and I immediately remember how much i loved her mother’s butter horns. So I promptly asked her for the recipe and permission to share it. So here it is.

Now lately I’ve been experimenting with natural yeast. I went to a class a few weeks back from the lovely Kelsey at Modern Healthy Mom all about Natural Yeast. I love it and in some ways it hasn’t been that hard of a change for me because I was already using breads with long rising times and a poolish or a leavin. I even tried making my own sour dough starter before. So taking this class and get a real live starter that is 200 years old was AWESOME! And now Kelsey and I can text about bread (and then Regan has to hear less about it. hahahahaha)

So I was making this lovely Honey Molasses bread the same day I was making these butter horns and so I thought I’d try them with the natural yeast.  And they worked out great. I’ll add in the regular recipe so that if you are using commercial yeast (no judgement here) then you can still enjoy these lovely treats!

These beauties are straight from my friend Jolene’s mom. And they are delicious. I promise. Totally a kind of flakey yeast dough. I think it is from the cold butter that you add in and using a sponge.

Butterhorns

Print Recipe
Course Bread & Muffins

Ingredients
  

For Regular Butterhorns

  • 2 pkg (or 2 Tbsp) quick rising yeast
  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 1/2 cup butter (plus more for spreading)
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 cups flour

For Natural Yeast Butterhorns

  • 1/2 cup starter
  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 1/2 cup butter (plus more for spreading)
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 cups flour

Instructions
 

For Regular Butterhorns

  • Soak the yeast in lukewarm water for 10 minutes.
  • Add all ingredients except 3 cups of flour to make a sponge.
  • Let rise for 1 hour.
  • Add remaining flour, knead and let rise 1 hour.
  • Roll out 1/2 inch and spread with more butter.
  • Cut into strips and place on sheet.
  • Let rise 20 minutes.
  • Bake 20 minutes.
  • Bake at 425 for 20 mites.
  • Brush with butter.
  • Ice while warm and dip into chopped nuts, if desired.

For Natural Yeast Butterhorns

  • (Setting up the dough: At least 8 hours before baking.)
  • Combine all ingredients except 3 cups of flour to make a sponge.
  • Let rise for 2 hour.
  • Add remaining flour and knead.
  • Place in a greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap and let sit overnight to rise. (8-12 hours)
  • Roll out 1/2 inch and spread with more butter.
  • Cut into strips and place on sheet.
  • Let rise 20 minutes.
  • Bake 20 minutes.
  • Bake at 425 for 20 mites.
  • Brush with butter.
  • Ice while warm and dip into chopped nuts, if desired.

With just a little bit of changes you can make them with natural yeast.

Thanks to Jolene for sharing them with my 22 years ago and reminding me of them all these years later.