No. 3075 — Excellent Buns: Detailed Kneading Method

Put 1 garnetz flour into a kneading trough and make a well in the centre. Mix 1 glass yeast mixture (more if it is no longer very fresh), 20 eggs and ¼ garnetz milk, then strain into flour that has first been thoroughly dried for at least two days.

Mix the dough and let rise for about half an hour. Begin working it vigorously by hand; gradually add 1 teaspoon salt, 1½ glasses sugar, 1⅓ glasses melted butter and the remaining flour, beating after every addition until the dough stops sticking to the hands.

Cover with linen without letting the fabric touch the dough and set in a warm place. When its volume has tripled and bubbles appear on the surface, shape small buns without adding flour. Lightly butter the hands to prevent sticking, smooth the tops and arrange the buns well apart on the baking sheet.

When the buns begin to rise on the sheet and surface bubbles appear, use a feather to brush the tops with beaten egg mixed with water, without glazing the sides. Place carefully in a fairly hot oven.

Once baked, remove carefully and lay them on a table with one edge resting on a sieve. Cover with a napkin that has been dampened with water and wrung out.

If the buns spread out while baking, the source attributes it to insufficiently dry flour. It recommends a slightly firmer dough and a thorough final rise, but warns that overly stiff dough is also undesirable.

The source's final ingredient total is 1 glass yeast mixture, ¼ garnetz (3 glasses) milk, 28 eggs, 1½ glasses sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1⅓ glasses melted butter and 1½–1¾ garnetz flour. If using dry yeast, take 3–4 zolotniks per pound flour and replace the liquid otherwise provided by the yeast mixture with milk.