Conversations & Creations · From my kitchen
Soft, light buns with a gentle hand-kneaded dough. The water in the oven helps keep them tender as they bake.
Ingredients
- 500 g flour
- 14 g (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ⅔ cup warm milk
- 60 g (4 tablespoons) ghee
- A little flour and water, for shaping and topping
Method
- Warm the milk and water until just warm to the touch. Add the sugar and yeast, cover and leave for about 10 minutes until frothy.
- Sift the flour and salt together. Rub in the ghee with your fingers.
- Pour in the yeast mixture and bring the dough together gently. It will be sticky at first; continue mixing until soft and only slightly sticky. Knead by hand rather than using a machine.
- Cover and leave to rise for about 1½ hours.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently but firmly. Shape the buns and place them on a tray.
- Sprinkle with flour, spray with water and cover. Leave to rise for 15 minutes.
- Make a deep dent down the middle of each bun. Spray with water and sprinkle with flour again.
- Place a round dish of water on the bottom of the oven. Bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 1 for about 10–15 minutes, checking your oven.
- Switch off the lower heat, spray the buns lightly with water and turn on the grill until golden. Remove and cover loosely with a cloth until needed.
