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Tuscan rosemary buns

Tired of your usual breakfast? These soft, savoury buns are the answer.
Eight savoury buns together with a saucer of syrup.

Photo: Ben Dearnley

Ben Dearnley
12
45M
20M
1H 5M

Most great breakfasts involve bread in some capacity. But sometimes, regular old toast just doesn’t cut it. So if you’re up for a change from your quotidian breakfast, these traditional Tuscan rosemary buns, which are excellent with both sweet and savoury toppings, are well worth a try.

In Tuscany, these buns are traditionally made at Easter-time, on Holy Thursday and taken to church to be blessed; these days, they are enjoyed all year round.

Ingredients

Method

1.Heat sour cherries and Amaro in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering (2-3 minutes). Set aside for 1 hour. Drain well, reserving liquid.
2.Heat olive oil and rosemary in a small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant and rosemary is crisp and dark green (5 minutes). Set aside to cool. Drain, reserving oil and roughly crushing leaves using a mortar and pestle.
3.Place flour, sugar, yeast and 1½ tsp salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed to combine. Gradually add milk and reserved rosemary oil to bowl and knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes).
4.Turn dough out onto a work surface and press into a 25xm x 30cm rectangle. Pat dry cherries, spread over dough, along with rosemary. Fold over corners of dough to enclose cherries and rosemary and knead until evenly distributed, sprinkling over extra 40gm (¼ cup) flour if required as you knead. The cherries will become slightly mashed and speckle the dough. Form into a round, transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rest in a warm, draught-free place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
5.Knock down dough with fist and divide into 12 equal pieces (83gm each). Working with one piece at a time and keeping other pieces covered, fold edges of dough underneath into the centre to form a ball, pinching base to seal, ensuring no fruit has torn surface. Place, seam-side down on a work surface, cup with your hand and roll ball in a circular motion, using friction of the bench to drag base towards you to create a smooth, tight ball. Arrange balls on a 23cm x 30cm oven tray lined with baking paper, in a 3 x 4 grid, leaving 1.5 cm between each ball for dough to expand. Score deep cross slashes into tops, cover and rest in a warm, draught-free place until doubled in size and touching (45 minutes – 1 hour).
6.Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly brush tops with egg; bake until buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped (18-20 minutes). Stir reserved Amaro and extra 1 tbsp sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and reduced by one-third (2 minutes). Brush syrup over hot buns then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter.

Dried sour cherries are available from select delicatessens.

Notes

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