This is one of my favourite things to cook. You pretty much can’t go wrong when making them, so long as you don’t overbeat the batter. They’re fluffy, light, wholesome, and with a surprising crunch from the walnuts. These cookies work well when less than 25% of the flour is white. This being said, I’ve tried this recipe with wholemeal and rye and they still rise perfectly. A buckwheat flour or a malted mix, dark or lighter rye are all options.
MAKES 10-12 buns
400g of plain white flour
400g of rye flour
A generous amount of salt
1 tsp instant dried yeast
approx. 400ml lukewarm
1 small apple, chopped into small cubes. Seeds discarded
A large quantity of chopped walnuts
approx. 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Black pepper, cracked or coarse
- Mix the white flour, rye flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Place the warm water in a small hole in the center of the flour.
- Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. You don’t have to be too gentle, but don’t go overboard. It should remain sticky. It doesn’t form a solid dough, just a rough mix, so add a tad more water if your mixture is too dry, or a little of either flour if the mixture is too wet.
- Wrap the tea towel in plastic and place it on one side. Ideally you’d leave this overnight or for at least 8 hours, but if the space is warm enough, the mixture will have risen in 2 hours.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat your oven to 240˚C/220°C fan/gas 8. When you remove the tea towel you’ll notice that the mixture has risen – it will still be sticky and more air bubbles/streaks will have formed. Add the walnuts and apple to the mixture and fold them in gently. You may find the mixture quite rough.
- Greaseproof or silicone baking paper can be used to line a large baking sheet. Start to divide the dough into small pieces. Again, this is quite rough. Use the spoons to your benefit, by moving them around the dough to create the desired shape. You can continue this until the dough is used up.
- Then sprinkle the sesame seed and pepper on top. This recipe can be seasoned with salt.
- Bake in the oven on a middle shelf for about 20–25 minutes. Your oven’s temperature may affect the time. They should have a golden brown crust on the tops.
- Take the buns out of the oven. Let them cool in the pan for about ten minutes before you eat. Remaining batter can be stored in an airtight container up to a week.