Rohrnudeln (Buchteln)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23x33cm baking dish or enamel roasting dish
• •Stand mixer or large mixing bowl
• •Pastry brush
• •Small saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Fine sieve

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Warm the milk to blood heat, about 35 to 38C, then stir in the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes until it looks alive and faintly foamy. Hot milk kills yeast before it starts; cold milk makes the dough sulk for an hour.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Put the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolk, salt, lemon zest, and yeast milk in a bowl and mix until no dry flour remains. Knead in the softened butter a little at a time, because flour needs to drink the liquid first; add the fat too early and the dough stays greasy instead of elastic.

   The dough should feel soft and a little tacky, not dry. Dust the bench lightly, but don't bury it in flour or the finished buns will bake heavy.
3. 3

   Knead and rise

   Knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or 6 to 7 minutes in a mixer on low speed, until the dough stretches without tearing quickly. That stretch is the net that holds the gas from the yeast. Cover the bowl and leave it warm until doubled, 60 to 75 minutes.

4. 4

   Fill the buns

   Butter a 23x33cm baking dish with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough out, divide it into 12 equal pieces, flatten each piece in your palm, and put a heaped teaspoon of thick Powidl or plum jam in the centre. Pinch the dough shut firmly and set each bun seam side down, because a loose seam opens in the oven and leaves the filling on the tin.

5. 5

   Pack them tight

   Set the buns close together in the buttered dish and brush the tops and sides with more melted butter as they go in. The sides must touch after the final rise. Crowded buns climb upward and stay soft at the joins; spaced buns form crust all around, and then you've missed the dish.

   Use a dish that makes them crowd. If your tin is too large, tuck a small buttered ovenproof dish at one end to steal the extra space. Plain kitchen sense.
6. 6

   Proof and bake

   Cover the dish and let the buns rise 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy and touching, and a fingertip pressed gently into the dough leaves a slow dent. Bake at 180C for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are golden and the centre buns feel light when tapped. Brush with the last of the melted butter when they come out, because butter keeps the crust tender while the crumb settles.

7. 7

   Make vanilla sauce

   While the buns bake, heat the milk with the split vanilla bean until it smells clearly of vanilla, then turn off the heat and let it stand 10 minutes. Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the hot milk slowly so the yolks warm without scrambling. Return it to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon, about 82 to 84C. Do not boil it. Boiled yolk turns grainy, and a sauce should pour.

   Strain the sauce if you see any cooked egg at the edge of the pan. Weggeworfen wird nichts, but lumps do not go on the table.
8. 8

   Serve and tear

   Let the Rohrnudeln stand 10 minutes, then dust them with icing sugar and tear them apart at the soft joins. Spoon vanilla sauce into shallow plates and set a bun into each pool, or pour the sauce at the table. Serve the centre buns first if you want the softest ones. Schoen ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Powidl, the thick plum butter from the autumn larder, is the best filling because it stays where you put it. If your jam runs from the spoon, cook it down for a few minutes and cool it before filling, or it will boil out and glue itself to the dish.
• •Pack the buns tight. This is not decoration; it is structure. The touching sides stop crust from forming there, so the buns tear apart soft instead of eating like separate bread rolls.
• •Don't rush the second rise. The dough should look swollen and calm before it goes into the oven. Underproofed buns split hard at the seams because the yeast makes its last push too violently.
• •Vanilla sauce is made from milk, yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Nicht aus dem Glas. Keep the heat low and stir to the corners of the pan, because egg catches there first.
• •Leftover buns are breakfast. Split them, fry the cut sides in butter, and spoon a little warmed sauce or jam over. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be kneaded the night before and left covered in the refrigerator for a slow rise. Let it stand at room temperature for 45 minutes before dividing and filling, because cold dough tears at the seam.
• •The filled buns can be packed into the buttered dish, covered, and chilled overnight. Bring them back until visibly puffy before baking; the clock matters less than the dough.
• •The vanilla sauce can be made one day ahead. Press a piece of baking paper directly on the surface, chill it, and warm it gently over low heat while whisking so it returns to a pourable sauce.
• •Baked Rohrnudeln are best the day they are made. Reheat leftovers covered at 150C until soft again, then uncover for the last few minutes so the tops regain their gloss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)