Miller's Dining Room, a dining institution in a suburb of Cleveland, OH,
passed into oblivion in 1995. It's legacy, perhaps, is its Sticky Buns.
Following is the recipe and a newspaper article published in The Sun
Times. They were the best sticky buns I've ever eaten.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Miller's Dining Room Sticky Buns

Recipe By : Gloria Morman
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour -- (4 1/2 to 5)
2 packages instant blend dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup butter -- margarine or shortening
1 egg
TOPPING:
Melted butter or margarine (use about 1-2
teaspoons in each cup) Light brown sugar (use 1
tablespoon in each cup) -- mixed with dash of
cinnamon

In large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix
well.

In saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until warm, between 120 and 130
degrees F. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Add egg. Blend at low speed
until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir
in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.

Turn out onto well-floured board or pasty cloth and knead until smooth and
elastic, about 3-5 minutes.

Place in well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with clean cloth
toweling or waxed paper. Let rise in warm oven (turn oven to lowest
setting for one minute, then turn off) for 15-20 minutes, or place in warm
area of kitchen and let rise until doubled in size. (Less time needed in
summer.)

Prepare muffin tins by generously greasing each cup with butter or
margarine, using about a half a teaspoon brown sugar to each cup. Set
aside.

Make rolls one of two ways. First method makes separate break-apart sticky
buns; second method is similar to those made at Miller's, cut from long
roll.

Method I: Pinch off 1-inch rounds of dough (smaller if small muffin cups
are used). Place three rounds in each muffin cup. Brush lightly with
additional melted butter or margarine.

Cover lightly with waxed paper and set aside to allow to rise in warm area
for another 15-20 minutes.

Method II: Amply flour clean toweling or pastry cloth. Roll dough out into
rectangle shape until about 1-inch thick. Generously brush dough with
melted butter or margarine. Sprinkle about 1/2-inch brown sugar over top
of margarine or butter.

Roll dough loosely as for jelly roll, pinching long seam to secure
filling. Cut into 1-inch slices and place in prepared cups.

Bake rolls into oven preheated to 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or
until golden brown, Let cool a minute, then remove rolls with fork. Spoon
any remaining topping over top of rolls.

CLOVERLEAF ROLLS

Using same dough, pinch off 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces of dough, form into
balls, and place three in lightly buttered muffin cups. Bake in oven
preheated to 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

S(Internet Address):
"http://www.sunnews.com/STICKYBUNS.htm"
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NOTES : The buns are sticky at Miller's
But what's the reason that they taste so good?
By BARBARA BRATEL COLLIER
Dear Readers:
During the two years I have written about food for The Sun News, the most
requested recipe, by far, has been for Miller's Dining Room sticky buns. I
don't often ask a restaurant for a recipe; after all, it's how they make a
living. But, after some thought, I decided to try Miller's. After some
coaxing, Ron Thomas Jr., general manager at Miller's, and I arranged a
meeting with Gloria Morman, the bake shop manager. As you might imagine,
it's impossible to duplicate a restaurant recipe at home. They use huge
scoops instead of cups, quarts in place of teaspoons, and seldom measure.
Most pastry chefs don't even know how to reduce their recipes to family
sizes. But I observed and came up with a great recipe, though not the one
used at Miller's. After all, that's their business. - BBC
Early each weekday morning, Gloria Morman drives across town to her job as
bake shop manager at Miller's Dining Room in Lakewood. Morman thinks
nothing of the drive. After doing it for 26 years, she has never
considered taking a job closer to home. The first thing this personable
baker does is begin greasing the sky-high stacked muffin tins used to bake
the restaurant's famous sticky buns. By the end of her working day, Morman
will have made between 800 and 1,000 sticky buns, plus cloverleaf rolls
(the same dough is used), plus corn sticks. Another baker takes over in
the evening, and, depending on the crowd, may wind up making even more
rolls. (To keep up with demand, Miller's has four full-time bakers who
also turn out fresh fruit and cream pies, cobblers, muffins, popovers and
other scratch desserts and rolls served daily.) Miller's Dining Room is an
institution in Lakewood, having been at the same location for 41 years.
Its claim to fame is high-quality, old-fashioned food and its relatively
low prices for soup-to-dessert meals, plus coffee. Until 1989, Miller's
was owned by Doris and Tom Urbansky, but the restaurant name came from
Doris's parents, Ruby and John G. Miller, who bought the eatery when it
was a Kaase's Restaurant. When the Urbanskys decided to retire, they
looked for another family to take over the business. The restaurant is
exactly what Ron Thomas had in mind for himself and his sons, Ron Jr. and
Steve. To ensure a smooth transition when they bought the business almost
two years ago, Ron Jr. worked with the Urbanskys for a year. The oldest
Thomas sister, Judy Hans of Mayfield Heights, is also an owner. The
Thomases had no plans of changing the already successful menu, nor the way
the sticky buns were made. "We tried using different ingredients," said
Ron Thomas Jr., "and the rolls were not the same, so we stuck with the old
ingredients." So just what is it that makes Miller's sticky buns
outstanding? To begin with, 95 percent of the products used at Miller's
are fresh, including vegetables and meats. Specific ingredients include
melted shortening (no tropical shortening or oils) rather than butter or
margarine in the dough. Regular white enriched flour is used exclusively
instead of bread flour, and light golden brown sugar (Miller's uses two
50-pound bags daily) replaces dark brown sugar or corn syrup. Only a
sprinkling of cinnamon is added to the brown sugar in the filling. The
dough should be light and almost sticky. Morman lightly oils her hands
when she works with dough to roll it, and to shape it into balls for
cloverleaf rolls. But perhaps the most important factors are an
experienced eye, good timing and a heavy-duty mixer, replacing the home
practice of mixing and kneading by hand. Large, heavy-duty home mixers
work equally well. Now is the perfect time to try your hand at making
yeast doughs. With the house warm, yeast acts quickly and doughs seem to
go together better. Add to that the wonderful fragrance of freshly baked
rolls.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

All distinctions are mind, by mind, in mind, of
mind. No distinctions no mind to distinguish.