Bulochky (булочки, sweet milk buns)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Stand mixer with dough hook or strong hands
• •Rimmed baking tray, about 28 x 38 cm
• •Pastry brush
• •Clean tea towel

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Stir the warm milk with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Leave it until the surface looks creamy and small bubbles gather at the edges. The milk should feel warm against your finger, not hot; if it bites, let it cool before the yeast goes in.

   If the yeast sits there looking flat and sulky after ten minutes, start again. Flour is cheaper than a tray of buns that never rise.
2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, mix the flour, remaining sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add the yeast milk, egg, and egg yolk, then stir until the dough comes together in rough pieces. Work in the soft butter a little at a time. Hold back extra flour unless the dough is truly sticking to everything; softness lives in that moisture.

3. 3

   Knead until supple

   Knead by hand on a barely floured table, or with a dough hook, until the dough turns smooth and elastic. It should feel alive under your palms, soft and slightly tacky, stretching before it tears when you pull a corner. If it smears, add flour by the spoonful, not the fistful.

   This is the step that forgives patience better than flour. Too much flour makes a neat dough and a dry bun.
4. 4

   Let it rise

   Rub a clean bowl with the sunflower oil, tuck the dough inside, cover it, and leave it until doubled and puffy. Your kitchen decides the clock. Look for a dough that smells milky-sweet and yeasty, with a finger dent that fills slowly instead of springing back at once.

5. 5

   Fill and shape

   Turn the dough onto the table and divide it into 18 pieces. For plain buns, tuck each piece into a tight ball. For filled buns, flatten one piece into a small disc, set a teaspoon of cold povydlo in the centre, then pinch the dough closed around it like a little purse. Put the buns seam side down on a lined baking tray, with room to swell.

   Loose jam will escape and burn at the edges. If yours runs off the spoon, simmer it down first until it sits in a mound.
6. 6

   Proof and glaze

   Cover the shaped buns and leave them until puffed, light, and just a little wobbly when you nudge the tray. Brush gently with the beaten egg and milk, then scatter poppy seeds over some of the tops if you like. Use a soft hand here; filled buns can split if you bully them.

7. 7

   Bake and soften

   Bake at 190C, or 170C fan, until the tops are lacquered deep gold, the sides are pale-gold, and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. Start checking when the kitchen smell changes from raw yeast to sweet baked milk. Brush the hot buns with melted butter, cover them with a clean towel, and let them sit until the crust softens. That towel is not decoration. It is part of the bun.

Chef Tips

• •Use thick povydlo, not loose jam. Plum, apple, and apricot all work, and each one tells a different season.
• •The dough should stay slightly tacky after kneading. If it feels dry and stiff before the first rise, the finished buns will tell on you.
• •For a bit more modern comfort, tuck in sweet curd cheese or a little cinnamon sugar instead of povydlo. The method stays the same.
• •Bulochky are best the day they're baked, but the towel trick keeps them soft into the next morning.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rise overnight in the fridge after kneading. Cover it well, then let it warm on the counter until soft and puffy before shaping.
• •The povydlo can be chilled the night before, which makes filled buns easier to seal.
• •Baked buns freeze well. Thaw covered, warm gently, and brush with a little fresh butter before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 65g)