HOW DOES THE DOUGH SWELL UP DURING COOKING?
There are three phenomena that make dough rise. The action of the yeast during the 30°C rise is a fermentation process that produces gas. Because the dough is viscous, this gas stays trapped and makes it swell up. Then, during cooking, the gases from fermentation dilate, taking up more volume and making the dough rise. Finally, the water in the dough will change from a liquid to a gaseous state.
ORGANISATION
1 month before | Make the dough, shape into buns, cook them and freeze them.
OR 2 weeks before | Make the dough, shape into buns, place them on a baking sheet and freeze.
1 hour before | Put the buns in the refrigerator to thaw, or even make the buns from scratch and refrigerate them uncooked.
On the day | Bake.
MAKES 460 G
(FOR ABOUT 20 BUNS)
7 g fresh baker’s yeast, crumbled
100 g milk
70 g egg (about 2 eggs)
40 g unsalted butter, softened
250 g (1⅔ cups) plain flour
5 g salt
20 g sugar
1 Pour, in order, the baker’s yeast, milk, 40 g of the egg, and the butter, flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix for a few minutes. Transfer the dough to a large, round-bottomed bowl, cover with plastic wrap (with the wrap touching the dough) then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. The dough will relax and undergo its first rise.
2 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knock it back by pressing on it lightly to remove the gas.
3 Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper. Lay two 4 mm rolling rods on either side of the dough and roll it out to an even thickness with a rolling pin. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4 Remove the top layer of baking paper and cut out 3 cm discs using a cookie cutter. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, spacing them out well.
5 Preheat the oven to 30°C, and place a heatproof bowl filled with boiling water in the oven. Spray the buns with water to prevent them drying out. Place them in the oven to rise for 1–1½ hours. If the minimum temperature of your oven is 50°C, leave the dough in a warm place to rise.
6 If they have been frozen, leave them to rise for a further 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and remove the water bowl.
7 Increase the oven temperature to 180°C. Glaze the buns with the remaining egg. Bake for 15–20 minutes; they should still be very soft.
