Buchteln mit Vanillesauce (sweet yeast rolls with vanilla sauce)
Soft Austrian-style yeast rolls baked pressed tightly together in a dish so their sides stay pale and pull apart, while only the tops brown, served with a warm vanilla sauce made by tempering egg yolks slowly rather than dumping them straight into hot milk. Packing the rolls close is not a space-saving shortcut, it is what gives Buchteln their soft, tearable sides.
Prep30 min
Cook25 min
Rest75 min
Servings4
Christoph's Buchteln, the rolls packed tightly together so the sides stay soft, served with a slow-tempered vanilla sauce.
Ingredients
Written for a 2.5 L dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
Dough
- 500 g flour rounded
- 60 g sugar rounded
- 7 g instant yeast rounded
- 250 ml milk, lukewarm rounded
- 2 egg yolks rounded
- 80 g butter, softened rounded
- 3 g fine salt rounded
- 60 g melted butter, for brushing rounded
Vanilla sauce
- 500 ml milk rounded
- 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped rounded
- 4 egg yolks rounded
- 70 g sugar rounded
- 15 g cornstarch rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Whisk the flour, sugar and yeast together in a large bowl. Add the lukewarm milk and egg yolks and mix to a rough dough.
- Knead in the softened butter and salt for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, until doubled.
- Divide into 12 pieces and shape each into a smooth ball. Arrange them pressed closely together in a buttered baking dish, brushing the tops with melted butter. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Bake for 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat the milk with the split vanilla pod and scraped seeds until just below a simmer.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together. Slowly pour in a third of the hot milk while whisking constantly, to temper the yolks, then whisk this back into the remaining milk.
- Return to low heat and stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Strain out the vanilla pod and serve warm alongside the rolls.
Notes
- Pack the rolls tightly against each other in the dish. This is not about fitting more in; it’s what keeps the sides from developing a crust, so the rolls tear apart soft rather than needing to be cut.
- Temper the egg yolks with hot milk gradually. Pouring all the hot milk in at once cooks the yolks into scrambled egg instead of a smooth sauce; a slow, whisked addition brings them up to temperature evenly.
- Never let the finished sauce boil. Past a certain point the yolks curdle no matter how much you whisk; keep it at a bare simmer and take it off the heat the moment it coats a spoon.
- The rolls are best fresh but reheat gently in the oven; the sauce keeps for 2 days in the fridge and rewarms over low heat, stirring constantly.
Ingredient substitutions
- A jam filling, apricot or plum, tucked into the centre of each roll before shaping is a traditional variation.
- Vanilla extract can replace the pod in the sauce if unavailable, added at the end instead of infused.
- A dusting of powdered sugar instead of the sauce is a simpler way to serve them.
From Christoph Mayer