Družbáky – Sweet Buns for the Fourth Sunday of Lent
·Starter
Warm the milk gently, so it's lukewarm rather than hot. In a bowl, combine a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of sugar, crumble in the yeast, pour over a little of the milk and stir into a smooth paste. Leave the starter to rise until it's nicely bubbly and looks puffed up.
Dough
Sift the flour with a pinch of salt and the sugar into a bowl. Pour in the remaining milk, the egg, the yolk and, right at the end, the butter. Mix into a smooth dough. Start by adding just 200 ml of the milk, then add a little more as needed – or, if the dough is too wet, work in a bit more flour.
Rising and shaping the rolls
Leave the dough to rise in the bowl for about three-quarters of an hour. Then turn it out onto a floured board and divide into smaller rolls – around twelve to fourteen pieces. Leave to rise again for another half hour. (Meanwhile, you can prepare the fillings from the next steps.)
Rolling into discs with a raised rim
Roll out the risen buns into flat discs with a slightly raised edge. A small rolling pin made for round pastries is perfect for this.
Brush with egg and fill
Brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg and spoon the filling into the centre. You can mix different fillings or make each batch with just one, and top them with almonds if you like.
Poppy seed filling
Bring the milk to the boil and sweeten with sugar. Stir in the ground poppy seeds, then mix in a knob of butter. Leave to cool.
Curd cheese filling
If you're using ready-flavoured vanilla curd cheese, there's no need to adjust it further – simply add raisins soaked in rum. For plain curd cheese, sweeten to taste with sugar and add a little vanilla.
Plum jam filling
Stir a splash of rum into the plum jam.
Bake
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for about 15 minutes, until the edges are a lovely golden colour.
