Buchteln A Small Dessert That’s Big On Flavor

Whenever I thought of Austria, dreamy visions of elaborately ruffled, whipped-creamed Viennese pastries waltzed through my head. So imagine my surprise when, on my first trip there last June, I ended up being most enraptured by the least pretentious of baked desserts, known as Buchteln ethereal, sweet, yeasty little rolls, served while still warm.

Buchteln are similar to brioche, but lighter, because they have less eggs and butter. While some cooks tuck in a tiny dollop of prune or apricot preserves, my favorite way to enjoy them is floating on a pool of vanilla-scented cream sauce. The rolls soak up the sauce like little sponges, becoming even more tender.

One afternoon during my visit, someone took me to Hawelka - the oldest, darkest, smokiest and certainly seediest student cafe in Vienna - and casually mentioned that the house specialty, Buchteln, was something that might interest me. The owner, a small, gracious elderly man, informed us that the Buchteln were available only at night, after 9:30 p.m., when his wife took over. I returned at 9:30, but the Buchteln were not ready.

“About how long will it be?” I asked the surly waiter.

“Forty-five minutes; they just went into the oven,” he replied.

After an hour I asked again. “Just a few more minutes,” he assured me. Another 10 minutes passed.

This time, when questioned, he replied with irritation, “I have no idea!”

I considered leaving. But I had been sitting near the kitchen, and when I stood up on my tiptoes I could see batches of dough go into the oven, emerge golden brown and then seem to disappear. I decided to monitor the next batch carefully.

Sure enough, the little old lady made the dough, baked it, unmolded it onto a plate, dusted it with powdered sugar and then wandered around the cafe looking totally confused as to what to do next.

In desperation, I ran up to her and said with pleading eyes and voice: “Bitte Frau, per mir?” I hoped this meant “Please, ma’am, for me?” but reasoned that the actual words were not important.

Apparently I was right, because with a docile expression she handed me the whole plate of seven. I had only wanted one, but I thought I had better take them rather than try to argue and lose them all. Although I ate only one, it was worth the price of the seven and the two-hour wait.

Buchteln

A half-recipe can be prepared in a 7-inch pan.

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon powdered sugar, plus additional for serving

2 packed teaspoons fresh yeast or 1/2 tablespoon dry yeast (not rapid-rise)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 large eggs (1/3 cup), at room temperature

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (such as Gold Medal)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups Vanilla Cream Sauce, optional (recipe follows)

Combine 2 tablespoons tepid milk (not hot milk or yeast will die), 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and yeast in small bowl. If using fresh yeast, crumble slightly while adding. Set mixture aside in draft-free spot 10 to 20 minutes. If mixture is not full of bubbles, yeast is too old.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Set aside in warm spot so it stays melted but not hot.

Combine sugar and eggs in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon. Warm remaining milk no hotter than tepid and stir in. Stir in yeast mixture. Add about 1/4 cup flour, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

Whisk together remaining flour and salt in medium bowl. Stir into dough until incorporated; dough will be very sticky. (For lightness and tenderness, dough must be exceptionally wet; add just enough extra flour to handle for shaping).

Continue stirring about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth, shiny, elastic and cool to the touch. Pour in 2 tablespoons melted butter and stir into dough about 5 minutes, until it becomes very smooth, soft and elastic. (It will still stick slightly to hands.)

Place dough in lightly buttered 4-cup bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80 degrees, but not above that temperature, or yeast will develop sour taste) until double in bulk, 1-1/2 to 2 hours (dough will rise to fill about 3/4 of bowl). Do not allow dough to rise more than recommended time or it will weaken the structure.

Gently deflate dough by kneading lightly; refrigerate at least 1 hour to firm dough for easier handling. (Dough can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 2 days; if so, gently knead to deflate before shaping. Unbaked dough can be frozen up to 3 months).

Melt remaining butter and strain into small bowl. Allow to cool until no hotter than tepid.

Turn dough out onto floured surface. It will still be slightly sticky. With lightly floured hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough between palms to form 1-1/4-inch-diameter balls. Dip each ball into melted butter, turning to coat well. Place in well-buttered 9- by 2-inch cake pan.

Cover dough lightly with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until top of dough reaches 1/2 1/2 inch from top of pan, about 1-1/2 hours (again, do not let rise too long). Thirty minutes before baking, place oven rack on bottom rung and place oven tiles or baking sheet on rack. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (400 degrees if using dark-colored pan).

Place pan on tiles and bake 5 minutes. Lower heat to 375 degrees and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes longer or until wood pick inserted in center of a roll comes out clean (instant-read thermometer will register 190 degrees).

Pour about 1/4 cup Vanilla Cream Sauce onto each serving plate. Unmold Buchteln onto wire rack and reinvert onto baking sheet. Gently pull rolls apart. Place 3 or 4 rolls, top-side up, on cream sauce on each plate. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve at once.

Yield: About 28 (2-1/4 by 1-1/2-inch) rolls, or 6 to 8 servings.

Vanilla Cream Sauce

6 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons sugar

Dash salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Have fine strainer ready near range, suspended over medium mixing bowl. With wooden spoon, stir together egg yolks, sugar and salt in small, heavy, noncorrosive saucepan until well blended.

In another small saucepan (or heatproof glass measure if using microwave on High power), bring milk, cream and vanilla bean to boil. Stir few tablespoons into yolk mixture. Gradually add remainder of mixture while stirring constantly.

Heat mixture, stirring constantly, to just before boiling point (170 to 180 degrees). Steam will begin to appear and mixture will be slightly thicker than whipping cream; it will leave well-defined track when finger is run across back of spoon.

Immediately remove from heat. Pour into strainer, scraping up thickened cream that settles on bottom of pan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into sauce and stir until seeds separate. Return pod to sauce until ready to serve. Chill until cold. Remove pod. Stir in vanilla extract. (Sauce will keep refrigerated 5 days, frozen 3 months.)

Yield: Scant 2 cups.