Sweet filled buns (Buchty)

Buchty — pillowy yeast-dough buns filled with plum jam and baked golden; a classic Czech sweet for six.

Ingredients

• medium-coarse flour500 g
• milk250 ml
• yeast1 cube
• plum jam200 g
• butter80 g
• sugar3 tbsp

Method

1. Warm milk and activate yeast. Gently warm the milk to about 37°C — it should feel just comfortable on your wrist. Crumble the yeast cube into the milk, stir in the sugar, and leave for 10 minutes until frothy and fragrant.
2. Make the dough. Tip the flour into a large bowl and pour in the yeast mixture along with 60 g of the melted butter. Bring together into a soft, slightly sticky dough, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3. Prove until doubled. Shape the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl, and cover with a clean cloth. Leave in a warm spot for about 45 minutes until it has doubled in size.
4. Divide and fill. Punch the dough down, then divide it into 12 equal pieces. Flatten each piece in your palm, spoon a heaped teaspoon of plum jam into the centre, and pinch the edges firmly together so no jam can escape during baking.
5. Arrange and prove again. Melt the remaining 20 g of butter and lightly brush a deep baking tin. Nestle the buns side by side in the tin, seam-side down, so they are just touching. Brush the tops generously with melted butter and leave to prove for a further 20 minutes until noticeably puffed.
6. Bake until golden. Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan 160°C). Bake the buns for 22–25 minutes until deep golden on top and hollow-sounding when tapped. They should have merged into a soft, pull-apart slab.
7. Rest and serve. Leave the buchty in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out. Dust generously with icing sugar and pull apart at the table while still warm.

Safety & hygiene Important

• Check jam temperature. The plum jam trapped inside the buns will be extremely hot immediately out of the oven — let the buns rest for at least 5 minutes and warn anyone eating them to bite carefully, as the jam can cause a nasty burn.