Rundstykker

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Two baking sheets
• •Kitchen scale
• •Small metal tray for steam
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Dissolve the yeast

   Pour the warm milk into a large mixing bowl. If you're using fresh yeast, crumble it directly into the milk and stir until it dissolves. Fresh yeast should feel cool and crumbly under your fingers, like soft clay. If it's sticky or smells sour, it's past its best and won't give you the rise you need. If using instant dry yeast, whisk it into the flour instead. Add the sugar and stir. The sugar feeds the yeast and helps the crust colour in the oven.

   Body temperature means you can hold your finger in the milk comfortably. Too hot and you kill the yeast. Too cold and it sleeps. The middle ground is what you're after.
2. 2

   Build the dough

   Add the flour and salt to the milk and bring everything together with a wooden spoon until you have a rough, shaggy mass. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for eight to ten minutes. The dough will start out sticky and resistant. Keep going. After a few minutes it changes: it becomes smooth, elastic, and alive under your hands. Work the softened butter in halfway through, pressing it into the dough in small pieces. The butter makes the crumb tender without weighing it down.

   To test if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and stretch it between your fingers. If you can pull it thin enough to see light through it without it tearing, the gluten is developed. This is the windowpane test, and it tells you more than any timer.
3. 3

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size. The yeast is building flavour and structure now. A warm kitchen is enough. Don't put it somewhere hot, like a switched-on oven, or the yeast works too fast and the bread tastes of nothing but air.

   If your kitchen is cold, place the bowl on top of the fridge. The warmth from the motor is gentle and steady, exactly what yeast likes.
4. 4

   Shape the rolls

   Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it flat to knock the air out. Divide it into twelve equal pieces. A kitchen scale helps here. Equal pieces mean even baking, and uneven rolls mean some are done while others are still raw in the centre. Roll each piece into a smooth ball: cup your hand over the dough and move it in tight circles on the counter, tucking the edges underneath. The surface should be taut and seamless. Place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment, leaving a good three centimetres between each one.

   Don't add extra flour when shaping. A tiny bit of friction between dough and counter is what creates the surface tension that gives the rolls their round shape. Too much flour and they slide instead of tightening.
5. 5

   Second rise and finish

   Cover the rolls loosely with a damp cloth and let them rise for forty minutes. They should look puffy and soft, and when you press one gently with your fingertip the dent should spring back slowly. If it springs back instantly, they need more time. If the dent stays, you've gone too far and the rolls may deflate in the oven. Brush the tops with beaten egg. This is what gives them their colour, a deep amber that darkens at the crown. Scatter generously with blue poppy seeds. Press the seeds gently into the glaze so they stick. The seeds are not optional. They are what make a rundstykke a rundstykke.

6. 6

   Bake with steam

   Heat the oven to 220°C. Place a small metal tray on the bottom shelf while it heats. When you put the rolls in, pour half a cup of water into the hot tray and close the door quickly. The burst of steam is the secret to the crust. It keeps the surface of the dough moist in the first minutes of baking, letting the rolls expand fully before the crust sets. Without it, the crust forms too early and the rolls stay small and dense. Bake for sixteen to eighteen minutes, until the tops are a deep golden brown and the bases sound hollow when you tap them. Transfer to a wire rack.

   Stand back when you pour the water in. The steam is immediate and fierce. Use an oven glove and keep your face away from the door.
7. 7

   Split and serve

   Let the rolls cool for just five minutes on the rack, no longer. A rundstykke is meant to be eaten warm. Split one open with your hands, not a knife. The crust cracks and the inside tears into a soft, open crumb. Spread with good butter and let it melt into the bread. Then add whatever you like: a slice of aged cheese, a spoonful of strawberry jam, thin slices of leverpostej, or just the butter and nothing else. That's a Danish morning.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh yeast gives a slightly better flavour and a more open crumb than instant. Danish bakeries use it exclusively. If you can find it, it's worth the small effort. Look for it in the refrigerated section, usually near the butter.
• •The milk should be whole, not skimmed. The fat in whole milk softens the crumb and helps the crust colour. Skimmed milk gives you a drier, paler roll.
• •If you want the rolls for Sunday morning without waking at dawn, make the dough on Saturday evening. Let it rise for thirty minutes at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Shape the cold dough into rolls in the morning and let them come to room temperature and finish rising for about an hour before baking. The slow, cold rise actually improves the flavour.
• •Blue poppy seeds are sold at most Scandinavian or Central European shops and online. Regular grey poppy seeds will work, but the blue ones have a sweeter, more delicate flavour and they look right. In Denmark, there is no substitute.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be refrigerated overnight after the first rise for a slow cold proof. Shape in the morning, let rise for an hour at room temperature, and bake fresh. The flavour deepens with the slow rise.
• •Baked rundstykker freeze well for up to one month. Reheat from frozen in a 180°C oven for eight to ten minutes. They won't be quite as good as fresh, but they'll be better than anything you can buy in a bag.
• •If serving for a gathering, shape the rolls and place on the baking sheet the night before. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Bring out an hour before baking to finish the rise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 70g)