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Mosbolletjies
Mosbolletjies: soft Paarl aniseed buns raised with a grape juice and raisin starter, dried for rusks
Each harvest, wine farms around Paarl and the Boland once used foaming fresh grape must to raise these sweet, tear-apart buns, and some families still bake them every January and dry what is left into rusks for coffee dunking. This home method replaces the must with a starter of pure grape juice, raisins and a little yeast, bubbled overnight; the tiny trace of alcohol the fermentation makes bakes off in the oven. The buns are soft and feathery, gently sweet, scented with aniseed and glazed with a sticky sugar wash. Rushing is the mistake: this dough rises slowly overnight and needs to double properly at each stage, or the buns turn out dense. Chef's tip: use juice with no added preservatives, which stop the starter from fermenting.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 24
Ingredients
For the grape starter
- 1 cup red grape juice100% juice, no added preservatives
- 3 ½ oz raisinsunsulphured if possible
- 1 tsp instant dried yeast
- 3 ½ oz bread flour
For the dough
- 2 lb bread flourplus extra for kneading
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp aniseedlightly crushed
- 1 cup milk
- 4 ½ oz butterplus extra for the tins
- ¾ cup lukewarm wateras needed
For the glaze
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
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Method
0/13 doneStep 1: Warm 1 cup red grape juice to lukewarm, pour it into a large jar and add 3 ½ oz raisins. Bruise the raisins against the side with a spoon, then stir in 1 tsp instant dried yeast.
Step 2: Cover loosely and leave at warm room temperature for 8–12 hours, until the raisins float and the juice is frothy and smells winey.
Step 3: Strain the liquid into a bowl, pressing the raisins to squeeze out their juice, and discard the raisins. Whisk in 3 ½ oz bread flour to a thick batter, cover and leave for 1 hour until bubbly.
60 minStep 4: Mix 2 lb bread flour, 5 ½ oz sugar, 2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp aniseed in a very large bowl.
Step 6: Pour the starter and the milk mixture into the flour and mix, adding ¾ cup lukewarm water a little at a time, until you have a soft dough.
Step 7: Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, silky and elastic; it is a big dough, so take your time.
12 minStep 8: Put it in a buttered bowl, cover well and leave somewhere cool overnight, 8–10 hours, until doubled. Don't put it somewhere hot to hurry it.
Step 9: Knock the dough back and divide into about 24 even pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball and pack them snugly side by side in two buttered 30 x 10 cm loaf tins or a deep roasting tin.
Step 10: Cover and leave until risen and puffy, just above the rim of the tins, 2–3 hours.
Step 11: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Bake until deep golden on top and the loaves sound hollow when tapped underneath.
40 minStep 12: Dissolve 2 tbsp sugar in 2 tbsp water and brush it over the hot buns straight from the oven for a sticky shine. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out.
2 minStep 13: Eat them fresh and buttered, or make beskuit: the next day, pull the buns apart, lay them on racks in the oven at 80–194°F with the door slightly ajar and dry for 5–6 hours, until completely crisp right through. Stored airtight, the rusks keep for weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 245 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mosbolletjies take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 24 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of aniseed?
- Fennel seeds, same amount (milder).
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