I often make these rolled buns, practically every time I have leftover sourdough starter. When I have no new ideas and don’t know how to use the excess, I quickly put flour, water, and excess in the mixer, five minutes for a simple dough, which is great for making focaccia, or small flatbreads cooked in a pan, or even better for buns. Like these.
With buns, everything is more straightforward, a few minutes in the mixer, a silent rise that doesn’t need me because it does everything on its own, finally a quick roll, and into the oven.
It is a basic dough, with common flours, no folds, no autolysis, no perfect shapes, no salt (that was easy 😃) and almost no oil. If I had added more oil, I could say they are oil buns (😃), but better not, also because sometimes I add the oil by eye, which could also mean less oil… so better to just call them rolled and not get it wrong!
That’s it, there’s nothing more to say about these buns, except they always go fast here!
I leave you the link to a short video I made at the time of these buns, which is among the videos on my Facebook page 👉 you can watch it by clicking here.
👇 Below, I’ll leave you more of my bun recipes, having extra ideas is always handy!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8-10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour 1
- 2 cups Manitoba flour
- 5 oz liquid sourdough starter (specifically leftover)
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Stand Mixer Russell Hobbs
Steps
Pour all the ingredients into the mixer bowl and start at low speed (I usually use speed 2). In a few minutes, the dough comes together.
☝ As always, the amount of water may vary because not all flours absorb in the same way. It’s better not to add all the water at once but start with 200 g and then add the rest gradually.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (but a plate or lid works perfectly fine too).
Wait for the dough to double in size (for proofing times, see at the end in: Notes).
When the dough has doubled, transfer it to the board or work surface.
Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces depending on how big or small you want your rolled buns.
Flour the work surface well and each piece of dough.
Flatten each piece of dough with your fingertips to roughly get a rectangle.
Roll the dough starting from the short side.
Place the rolled buns on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Moisten the surface of each bun with milk or water (but it is optional).
Bake and cook at 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200°C) for 15 minutes (if the buns are small) or 20 minutes (if larger).
Here are the rolled buns just baked:
After about 10 minutes:
After 20 minutes, once baking is complete:
They are excellent filled…
…but also just enriched with walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds. Or with some sweet detail like raisins or chocolate pieces. 😋
☝ As always when using sourdough starter, the rising time cannot be specified precisely as it depends on various factors, mainly the ambient temperature and the activity of the starter. If the starter is nice and active and freshly fed, and if it’s warm, it should rise in 6-7 hours. It can be helpful to place the bowl in the oven (turned off) with the light on, or closed inside the microwave. Using the leftover lengthens the times and they can vary depending on the activity (or rather the inactivity) of the leftover, I have observed very different times, from 8 to 12 hours.
☝ I often bake the buns when the dough is ready, without refrigeration, but just as often I put it in the fridge for a few hours (usually overnight). With these methods: if I decide to mix in the late afternoon or evening, and depending on how the rising is going, when it’s time to go to sleep, I put the dough in the fridge regardless of the hours of rising already passed (I prefer not to leave the dough unattended since I can’t check it). Then I take it out of the fridge one or two hours before the planned baking time (naturally always considering how long it had risen the day before) (it seems difficult to explain, but trust me, in practice, it’s all a lot less complicated! 😉).
Salt-free Tips
Salt-free bread can also be made in bun form 😃 because it allows you to get more creative with the fillings, and in case, you are freer to decide on the spot what to enrich the dough with.
If it is your first time here and you don’t know that I cook without salt, I invite you to read the article where I talk about my experience: Cooking without salt, my journey. 😊
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Reduce salt gradually, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and shouldn’t notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granules
– Prefer fresh food.
– Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that don’t dilute flavors (grill, en papillote, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Occasionally allow yourself a break from the rule. It’s good for morale and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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