Boller

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Two baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Warm the milk

   Warm the milk gently in a small saucepan until it reaches body temperature. Test it against the inside of your wrist. It should feel like nothing, neither warm nor cool. Stir the melted butter into the warm milk and set it aside. If the milk is too hot, it kills the yeast. If it's too cold, the yeast stays dormant and the dough takes hours longer than it should.

   Melt the butter separately and let it cool for a few minutes before adding it to the milk. You want them both at the same gentle temperature when they meet the yeast.
2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl when you add them. Salt slows yeast if they sit together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and butter mixture, then crack in the egg. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together into a rough, shaggy mass, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for eight to ten minutes. You're building the gluten that gives the boller their soft, springy crumb. The dough will start sticky and reluctant. Keep going. It will smooth out, become elastic, and start to feel alive under your hands.

   Resist adding extra flour while kneading. A slightly sticky dough makes a softer bun. Use the heel of your hand, push the dough away from you, fold it back, turn it a quarter, and repeat. If it clings to the counter, scrape it up and keep working.
3. 3

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a smooth ball and return it to the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave it somewhere warm for about an hour, until it has doubled in size. The kitchen counter is fine. Near a radiator is better on a cold day. Don't rush this. A slow, full rise is where the flavor develops. Fast yeast gives you volume but no character. When the dough has doubled, press two fingers into the surface. If the indentations hold and the dough doesn't spring back, it's ready.

4. 4

   Shape the boller

   Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it gently to release the large air bubbles. Divide it into fourteen equal pieces. A kitchen scale makes this easy; each piece should weigh about 65 grams. Now shape each piece into a smooth, tight ball. Cup your hand over the dough and roll it in a circular motion against the counter, tucking the edges underneath with your fingertips. The surface should be taut and seamless. This is the step that matters most. A loosely shaped bolle spreads flat in the oven. A tight one holds its dome and bakes round and proud.

   If the dough sticks to the counter while shaping, use a tiny amount of flour under your hand. Too much flour and you lose the friction that lets you pull the surface tight. The counter does the work; your hand just guides.
5. 5

   Second rise

   Place the shaped buns on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving a few centimetres between each one. They will grow. Cover loosely with a damp cloth and let them rise for thirty-five to forty minutes. They should look visibly puffier and feel soft and yielding when you touch them lightly with a fingertip. Don't let them overprove. If they rise too long, the structure weakens and they collapse in the oven instead of holding their shape.

6. 6

   Glaze and bake

   Heat the oven to 200°C. Brush the tops of the buns with the beaten egg, using a light hand. You want a thin, even coat that gives them a golden sheen, not a thick layer that pools in the creases. Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes until the tops are a deep, even gold and the buns sound hollow when you tap their bottoms. That hollow sound means the interior is baked through. If the tap sounds dense and dull, give them two more minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let them cool for at least ten minutes before you eat one. They're best slightly warm, when the crumb is still soft and the crust gives way with the gentlest pull.

Chef Tips

• •Use real butter, not margarine. You'll taste the difference in something this simple. When there are only six ingredients, each one has nowhere to hide.
• •The milk temperature matters more than you'd think. Too hot and the yeast dies quietly, and you won't know until the dough refuses to rise an hour later. Body temperature, every time. Test it on your wrist.
• •If you want to make these on a weekday morning, mix and knead the dough the night before, let it rise for thirty minutes at room temperature, then cover it tightly and put it in the fridge overnight. The cold slows the yeast without stopping it. In the morning, shape, prove, and bake. The flavor is even better for the long, slow rise.
• •Boller freeze beautifully. Cool them completely, seal them in a bag, and freeze for up to two months. Warm them in a 150°C oven for five minutes straight from frozen. They come back almost as good as fresh.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made the night before and refrigerated after thirty minutes of rising. Shape and bake in the morning for fresh boller with almost no active time.
• •Baked boller keep in an airtight container for two days. After that, split and toast them. They're still good.
• •Freeze baked and cooled buns in a sealed bag for up to two months. Reheat from frozen in a 150°C oven for five minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 65g)