These are a very soft brioche eaten for breakfast. The first time I ate them was in Merano, but the first time I prepared them was about twenty years later, when I found Ilaria Fioravanti’s recipe on a Facebook group.
I make them very often and serve them with an apricot jam I love.

Buchteln: soft Tyrolean brioche

  • Preparation time: at least 8 hours
  • Ingredients for 12 buns
  • Difficulty: Average difficulty recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 14 oz (400 grams) of high gluten flour
  • 6 oz (170 grams) of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • ½ oz (9 grams) of fresh yeast
  • 3 yolks
  • 1 ½ oz (40 grams) of melted butter
  • 3 oz (80 grams) of sugar
  • ½ oz (7 grams) of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • Zest of an orange
  • 3 oz (80 grams) of butter at room temperature
  • Melted butter to taste
  • Powdered sugar to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Dissolve the yeast and honey in 4 oz of warmed milk; mix well with 4 oz of flour. Cover and put in a warm place for at least half an hour or until doubled in volume.
  3. Pour the mixture into the kneading machine and add the milk and flour a little at a time, leaving aside about four tablespoons of flour. As soon as the dough has clung to the mixer, add the sugar and each of the three egg yolks one at a time with a spoonful of flour.
  4. When the dough is elastic and not sticky, add the salt and vanilla and then gradually the melted butter with the orange zest.
  5. At this point, add the remaining softened butter (at room temperature) in small pieces and the last spoonful of flour. Continue until the dough is perfectly smooth and elastic; it must be quite soft.
  6. Make a ball, stretch it well as you do for bread, and then cover it and put it in a warm and humid place in order to rise.
  7. When the dough has doubled, weigh it and divide the weight by 12.
  8. Fold the edges of each piece into the middle a couple of times so you get a nice ball with a smooth surface on the bottom side. Arrange them side by side, well-greased with melted butter.
  9. Let rise covered. When they are all well attached to each other and puffy, bake in a hot oven at 400 °F and bake for about twenty minutes until golden brown.
  10. Take them out of the oven and cold sprinkle them with icing sugar.
    Serve with apricot jam.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • The dough is ready when you are able to stretch it into a thin (almost transparent) film that does not break easily. If you have not achieved this, continue beating.
  • Before introducing the butter, the dough must be elastic and not sticky.
  • The rising time depends on many factors: for example, both the temperature of the dough and the external temperature are very important.
  • The timing of cooking in the oven is indicative because each oven cooks differently.