It is good to have some nice, sweet baked things at Easter and now it is perfect timeto practice. Fortunately my wife’s birthday is mid March and for me it is perfect excuse to practice baking nice things. This year my better half requested Buchty. I used to bake them more often in the past and this time she wanted to have them again. I like to think about Buchty as eastern European answer to brioche. I know, the purists will tell me that they should be filled with powidlo or vanilla cream. But this is my version! The dough enriched with eggs and butter, slightly sweet and so light that it literally melts in your mouth. Buchty served with butter, apricot jam and coffee make perfect continental breakfast. So if you expecting to have friends or family staying with you over Easter why not treat them to Buchty for breakfast!

Makes 16 rolls

Equipment required: 24cm diameter springform round cake tin

Ingredients:

• 450g strong white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 50g caster sugar
• 80g butter
• 120g milk
• 7g fast action dried yeast
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 25g butter, melted

Method:
1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Make well in the centre.
2. Melt 80g of the butter in a small pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Leave to cool until lukewarm and stir in the yeast.
3. Pour the mixture into the flour and stir in sufficient flour to form a thick batter. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs and remaining flour until a soft smooth dough is formed. This may take about 10 minutes. Alternatively use a mixer with dough hook attached.
5. Cover with cling film (or shower cap) and leave to rest in a warm place, for about 1.5 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
6. Meanwhile grease the cake tin.
7. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock back to remove excess gas. Divide into 16 equal pieces and shape into rounds.
8. Coat each of the rolls in the butter and place them, slightly apart, in the tin. Cover with damp towel and leave to prove, in a warm place, for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
9. Meanwhile, pre heat the oven to 190 centigrade.
10. Bake Buchty in the centre of pre heated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Serve for breakfast with butter and apricot jam accompanied with a cup coffee.