Butter, Schnaps, Zucker, Mehl und Eier – in Tirol machen wir Essen fürs Gemüt. Buchteln sehen ein bisschen wie Wolken aus. Und wenn der Hefeteig mitspielt, schmecken sie auch geradezu himmlisch.
Warm the milk slightly. Crumble the yeast and stir in. Mix the sugar and flour in a separate bowl.
Add the milk and yeast mixture. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place - next to the oven, for example - for about 30 minutes.
Add 2 eggs, vanilla sugar and apricot brandy. If you are baking the Buchteln for a children's birthday party, you can of course omit the alcohol.
Add the butter and a pinch of salt. Knead the Buchtel dough with a hand mixer or food processor until it starts to bubble slightly. Cover the bowl of dough with a tea towel and leave to rise for another 20 minutes. The dough has now at least doubled in size.
Making yeast dough causes many an amateur chef to worry. Welcome to the Champions League of pastries! There are a few rules to follow to ensure that the endeavour is a success: Firstly, the dough needs to be kneaded thoroughly. Then leave it to rise in a warm place, knead it again, shape it, leave it to rise a second time and put it in the oven. If you don't use ingredients that are too cold, you can look forward to perfect Buchteln.
Tip: A small lasagne tin also works very well.
To give the dish its typical appearance, the Buchteln must be placed close together in the baking tin. Then brush with melted butter.
Cover the baking tin with a kitchen towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160 degrees fan or 180 degrees top/bottom heat. Then bake the Buchteln for about 30 minutes.
The Buchteln smell wonderful when they are fresh out of the oven. Leave to cool briefly and sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve warm and, if you like, add a dollop of vanilla sauce on top.
