Saint Anthony’s buns are a traditional recipe from Prato in Tuscany, where they celebrate this Saint with these buns that are soft and sweet.
This tradition seems to have quite ancient origins and on January 17th, the priest used to go around the town’s stables to bless the animals, and these delicious buns were eaten.
Nowadays, there are hardly any animals to bless, so the blessing of the animals has faded away, but the custom of preparing these buns on the day of Saint Anthony still exists.
Now the priest blesses the bakers’ yeast instead of the animals, since there are practically no animals left.
You might wonder where I found this recipe, which is anything but Abruzzese, but I often have the luck of meeting people who give me unique regional recipes to try and then share on the blog.
I have to say they were a conquest at the first bite, so I highly recommend them.
About 103 kcal per bun
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 3 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 30 buns
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients to make Saint Anthony’s Buns
- 4 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
- 2/5 cup Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Small egg
- 3 1/2 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 2/3 oz Fresh yeast
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tbsp Milk
- 2 1/2 tbsp Sugar
Preparation of Saint Anthony’s Buns
In a bowl, place the yeast with the milk and let it dissolve, then add the sugar and part of the flour.
Then add the sunflower oil, a beaten egg, the salt, and complete the dough by adding the remaining flour.
Finish working the dough on a work surface until obtaining a soft, non-sticky dough, and then place it to rise in a covered bowl in a warm environment… the oven light will work fine.
Let it rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Once risen, pour the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form a homogeneous dough again.
From the obtained dough, create balls of about 1.1-1.2 oz each, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place the balls next to each other in rows of 6, and let them rise again for about 1 hour in a warm place or with the oven light on.
Once risen, turn on the oven, and in a glass, mix the egg yolk with the milk and brush the buns with it. Once all are brushed, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 340°F for 25 minutes.
Once baking is complete, let them cool and divide them into groups of 6, because traditionally that’s how it is done, but obviously at home, we will divide them individually for convenience.
To preserve them, place them in plastic bags, and they will keep for at least 4 days.
