We grow our own vegetables and herbs on our farm in Copenhagen and, for a change, we raised some chickens so we could have fresh eggs every morning. In this way, we have tried to arouse our children’s interest in food and make it completely natural for them to try new things, to recognize that you have to make an effort to cook, and to know about the ingredients you use.—Mikkel Karstad
Rosemary Buns with Olive Oil FAQs
If you make more pastries than you can eat in one day, you can enjoy them again the next day, when heated in the oven or in a toaster. To reheat in the oven, wrap in foil and place in a 250℉ for 10 minutes.
If you have a scale, weigh the dough and divide the weight by 10 (or 12) to determine the weight of each roll. Cut the dough into wedges and then make adjustments as needed. If you don’t have a scale, just eyeball it. Nobody’s perfect–and neither are their buns, honey.
When a bread recipe asks for beer, it’s not just about the taste. Beer also helps to leaven the dough, giving the recipe some rise. Because of that, we would really only recommend substituting a different type of beer. You can go with non-alcoholic or anything else that has a light, mild flavor.
Rosemary Buns with Olive Oil
Ingredients
- 1 ounce fresh yeast , or substitute 1/2 ounce (14 g) active dried yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
- 2 cups cold water
- 1/2 cup lager
- 11 ounces (2 1/2 cups) Italian ‘Tipo 00’ flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 14 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Needles from 5 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir the yeast, water, and lager together. Add a little of the flour before the salt, then the rest of the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until you have a cohesive dough. (If you add the salt first, you risk breaking down some of the yeast’s leavening ability.) The dough should be soft and pliable, without sticking to your fingers when you work it. If the dough is exceptionally sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- Leave the dough in the bowl or dump it into a plastic tub, cover it with a lid or tea towel, and refrigerate. Let the dough rise in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.
- The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it stand for 1 hour to reach room temperature.
- Divide the dough into 10 or 12 pieces and roll them against your work surface to create tight little buns. Place the buns on a floured surface, well-spaced apart, and let rise until they have doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Press down the middle of each bun and gently push out the sides to form a depression in the middle of approximately 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter and a crust all the way around. Gently lift each bun and divide between two pieces of parchment paper, leaving them to rise for 15 to 20 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), with two rimmed baking sheets inside.
- Drizzle the buns with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary leaves and some sea salt.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully slide each one under a sheet of the risen buns. Bake the rosemary buns until golden and lightly toasted on the surface, and the internal temperature has reached 200°F (93°C), 15 to 16 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
My plan was to serve these rosemary buns with an assortment of cheeses and olives but we ended up devouring them about 15 minutes after they came out of the oven because they looked so irresistible! The texture of the buns was very similar to ciabatta bread with large holes, a nice open crumb, and a lightly crisp exterior.
I made the indentations as instructed but my buns sort of grew into and over them leaving tiny holes in the middle. I had even pressed them down again right before baking; I’m not sure if this might indicate they were under-proofed though they didn’t seem so. Next time I would just dimple them and drizzle them with olive oil.
The dough was very sticky so I shaped the buns and put them immediately onto the parchment to proof; I probably should have added a little more flour in the mixing phase but I was hoping to get those big holes you get from a nice wet dough (and I did!). These would be delicious for sandwiches or served with a charcuterie board. We loved them and they could not be easier.
As I usually make bread each week, this recipe for rosemary buns with olive oil looked like an interesting change to shake things up a bit, as the photo reminded me of a bialy. I liked that these essentially autolysed overnight in the fridge, so it comes together easily.
They are kind of like a mix between a focaccia and a bialy and are wonderfully tasty. We’ve enjoyed them with taleggio cheese and replaced the old Kaiser roll to fill it with Taylor ham, egg, and cheese (wonderful). This is definitely a keeper recipe.
Would these be appropriate for Thanksgiving?
They’d be perfect for Thanksgiving, Catherine.
Is there a substitute for the 00 flour?
Diane, we didn’t try it with any other flour, but bread flour would be the closest if you want to try substituting.