Norwegian School Buns Skoleboller Sourdough Recipes

NORWEGIAN SCHOOL BUNS 'SKOLEBOLLER' (SOURDOUGH)

Steps:

• Start by mixing active sourdough starter, milk, flour, and sugar in a bowl. Cover and rise in a warm spot for 4 hours or until the levain has doubled/tripled in size.
• Start by gathering all the ingredients. Add them all, except the butter, to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together. Cover, and autolyse/rest for 30 minutes.
• Start your mixer again and knead on medium speed for 5-10 minutes.
• After 5-10 minutes: slowly add in the softened butter, one cube at a time.
• When all the butter is added, continue kneading at medium speed for 15-25 minutes until your dough passes the window-pane test.
• Gently shape the dough into a round. Transfer it to a clean, lightly oiled baking bowl and proof in a warm spot, ideally at around 78°F/26°C, for two hours.
• After two hours, transfer the dough to the fridge to cold-proof for a minimum of six hours (or up to fifteen hours).
• Take the dough out of the fridge, let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Next, weigh the dough and divide it by the number of buns you would like to make, either 9 large (roughly 120g each) or 12 smaller buns (roughly 90g each).
• Use your bench knife to cut the dough into equal pieces. Then, shape the dough pieces into seamless rounds. Transfer them to a lined baking tray. Use your hands to gently push down the rounds to make them more of a disc shape. Cover the tray loosely with plastic wrap.
• Since my baking tray is too large for my proofing box, I let them proof at room temperature (around 68°F/20°C) for 10 hours. You want the buns to be all puffed up and doubled in size before you bake them. This may take anywhere from 9-12 hours, depending on your environment, temperatures, and sourdough starter.*
• In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, corn starch, and salt.
• Cut the vanilla bean pod in half (lengthwise) and scrape off the vanilla bean with a knife.
• Add the milk and vanilla bean to a small pot. Heat up over medium heat until you can see small bubbles forming around the edges of the pot, almost to a boil.
• Take the pot off the heat and slowly pour it over the egg mixture a little at a time while constantly whisking.
• Place a fine-mesh strainer over the pot and strain everything back into the pot. Heat up over medium heat, still constantly whisking, until the pastry cream is thick and shiny.
• Remove from heat and mix in the butter. If you're using vanilla extract, you want to mix it in now.
• Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap that is touching the entire surface of the cream. Cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 430°F/220°C.
• Use your knuckles/fingertips to create an indention in the middle of each bun. You want to make sure to really press down the dough so that the filling stays inside the bun rather than on top of the bun.
• With a spoon or piping bag, fill the centers of each bun with a generous amount of vanilla pastry cream.
• Brush with egg wash and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
• When the buns are completely cooled down, you can make the glaze.
• Combine powdered sugar and water and mix until it forms a thick glaze.
• Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over each bun. Lastly, sprinkle on the desiccated coconut.