Buchteln – Sweet Austrian Yeast BunsBuchteln – Sweet Austrian Yeast Buns

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and set it aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve and activate.

Step 2

Stir in sugar, egg, melted (lightly cooled) butter, vanilla and salt with a hand whisk.

Step 3

Stir in about 1 ½ cups (200 g) of the flour to get a thick batter and stir vigorously with the whisk until no lumps remain. Time to change your tools: Get rid of the whisk an use a sturdy (wooden) cooking spoon to gradually stir in the rest of the flour.

Step 4

When all ingredients come together fold the edges into the center for a couple of minutes. Keep your dough in the mixing bowl for that. The dough will be sticky, but refrain from adding more flour. It helps if you oil your clean hands before you knead a sticky dough. Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Step 5

Let the dough rise, covered at warm room temperature until doubled in volume (about 3/4 to 1 hour).

Step 6

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal parts. Keep pieces you don’t need right away covered.

Step 7

Fold the edges of each piece into the middle a couple of times so you will get a nice ball with a smooth surface on the bottom side. Flatten each ball with your palm to a circle with a diameter of 3 to 3 ½ inch, keeping the center slightly thicker than the edges. Usually this part works without using any additional flour. If the dough keeps sticking to your countertop, add some.

Step 8

Put 1 teaspoon of apricot jam (not more) in the center of every circle. Wrap the dough around the filling, pinching and sealing it tightly. Round the buns again, creating a bit of surface tension. If you use too much filling, it’s difficult to seal them. Also avoid getting jam onto your edges, because this way it is almost impossible to seal them (see more troubleshooting in the note).

Step 9

Put every Buchtel with the sealed side down onto a lightly floured surface until you have finished filling all of them.

Step 10

Put about 2 ½ tablespoons melted butter (you might need a little more) in a small bowl. Brush a baking pan (I used an oval 11 x 7 inch ceramic pan) with melted butter, just until coated. Put every Buchtel in the bowl with the melted butter, turn it around until well coated. [Update 6/19/2015: Instead of turning the buns around in the bowl with melted butter it is easier to brush each bun when you've placed them in the pan.]

Step 11

Place the Buchteln, coated with butter, in your baking pan. You can do this tightly packed (traditional way) or give them a little, but not too much space. They will still rise during the second proofing and baking. If you feel there are too many of them, you can place the remaining in a lined muffin tin.

Step 12

Let them proof a second time for about 20-30 minutes at warm room temperature until puffy. It is best to cover the whole pan with a lid or cling wrap in this step. If you have a rather shallow pan, don’t cover the Buchteln, since they will stick to the plastic wrap. If you couldn’t cover them and they seem kind of dry before baking, you can brush them another time with melted butter.

Step 13

Bake them at 375 °F/ 190 °C in the preheated oven (center) for about 25 minutes (minimum 20 minutes). When they are golden-brown in color, take them out of the oven.

Step 14

Let the Buchteln cool for 5-10 minutes and serve them dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Enjoy!