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Sweet Jam Filled Buns – Lekváros bukta

lekvaros-buktaThese soft and light jam filled buns are often served as a second course after a soup lunch. Any leftovers would be nice for breakfast with tea or coffee.   I found some “plum butter” in the supermarket, which gave me the idea to have a go making these, the thick plum jam gives a traditional Hungarian taste.
These are also made with other fillings, one is sweet curd cheese and a savory one which one of my favourites is caramelised grated cabbage with salt and pepper, like at the cabbage pasta. But here is the jam version.

Ingredients – makes about 12 pieces

  • 600g (5 cups) strong flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 whole egg
  • 300ml (1.2 cups) milk
  • 60g (¼ cup) melted butter
  • 25g (1 oz) fresh yeast
  • Plum butter or any thick fruit jam
  • + 1 beaten egg to wash before baking

Method

  1. In a little sugary warm milk dissolve the yeast, leave for 10-15 minutes till starts to rise
  2. Work together with the rest of the ingredients into a soft dough, only add the melted butter at the very end and work it in. It takes 10-15 minute kneading by hand which I do in the mixing bowl. It always looks hopeless at first but eventually transforms into something that resembles to a smooth elastic dough and comes away clean from the bowl and hands.
  3. Leave the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a cloth, keep in a warm room and let it rise and double in size, about 45 min, but  this can vary.
  4. Place the dough on a well floured surface and roll it out about an inch thickness.
  5. Cut into palm size squares and place a generous dollop of jam in the middle of each.
  6. Roll up the sheets with the jam inside and tuck the ends underneath, place in a baking dish one by one with only a small gap between them. They are going to be “batch baked”, so the sides will be touching and need to be separated later.
  7. Cover with a cloth and leave it to rest for 30 minutes, it will rise a bit further.
  8. Beat one egg and brush the top of the buns.
  9. Place in a preheated oven 180°C (350°F), and bake till the top is golden about 25 minutes.
  10. Remove from the oven, tip the fused buns out of the baking dish, turn them back top side up and let them cool for a bit.
  11. Once just lukewarm, tear into individual pieces, dust with a little icing sugar.

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