Creamy egg bun

I’d say it’s an ‘any day recipe’ as it is too good for such an easy recipe, especially if you’re not making buns. It takes just 30 mins to bake but you get a lot of creamy eggs! You can double or triple the recipe and make a good batch for a week and keep them in your fridge and honestly, even snack on them.

I love making buns myself, and I would do it every single time if I could, had time/energy. I really liked this simple brioche bun recipe, I think it is particularly perfect for this breakfast sandwich, slightly sweet like easter buns/hot cross buns.

I finally made yeasted buns again. The last time I made them was back in summer when I was doing jagodzianki, and I'd forgotten how it feels to work with yeasted dough, I always get a bit confused as to how the yeasted dough works, haha. I mean in timing, I always have to make this scheme in my head to try and calculate and understand how much time I’d need. I’m so used to baking with sourdough now, that I almost have no idea how to do things with yeast, both dry and fresh. Though, eventually everything comes out very very well every time, baking sourdough really taught me well. So I’m feeling more and more comfortable with yeast now.

Let’s make 'em buns.

For the creamy egg (perfect for 4)

• 8 large eggs

• 240ml (1 cup) heavy cream

• Some salt and pepper (be generous), + other spices you want

• A roughly 20x20cm baking dish

For homemade buns

• 400g bread flour

• 160ml warm milk

• 8g fresh yeast (or 4g instant)

• 8g salt

• 50g sugar

• 2 eggs

• 50g butter, soft

Also

• 1 egg yolk

• A splash of cream

• Lettuce

• Mom’s adjika (or any other spicy sauce)

• Cheese (I went for mild cheddar)

• Mayo

• Sesame seeds for some of the buns

Buns first

Dissolve your yeast in the warm milk and let it wake up for 10 minutes. Add flour, salt, sugar, and eggs into the yeast mixture. Turn the stand mixer on with dough hook attached. Let the dough hook do its thing on medium-low speed until everything comes together, then add the butter, piece by piece, watching it melt and change the dough texture.

Knead on medium for the first 8-10 minutes. You want everything to come together, don’t expect it to be smooth, it’ll be sticky and shaggy. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes to relax and give gluten some time to develop a bit. Turn the mixer back on medium high speed, and let it work for another 15-20 mins. Once most of the dough comes off the sides of the bowl and looks smooth, perform a window pane test to check if it is ready and doesn’t tear apart.

Cover and let it rise somewhere warm for an hour, closer to an hour and a half. we want it to double in size and get nicely puffy.

Now we shape

Flip the dough over on a lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 pieces depending on how substantial you want your buns, I find this dough recipes makes 8 great medium sized buns. Shaping buns properly makes a difference in how they look and how evenly they bake. You want a tight, smooth surface on top with all the seams tucked underneath. Take one portion of dough and press it, you want to flatten it into a rough disc. Pull the edges into the center from all sides. Turn it over so the smooth side is on top, try and cup your hand over the ball and move your hand in circles, letting the dough drag slightly against the surface. This creates tension and makes the top smooth and tight.

Put the ball seam-side down on your lined baking sheet, and let them proof for another 30-45 minutes under a kitchen towel. OR place them in the fridge if you’re making them the evening before, sprinkle with some flour on tops and cover with cling film. When taken from the fridge in the morning, let them proof for 1h 15mins.

Now we bake

Oven to 180°C when ready to bake.

Whisk together that egg yolk and cream and brush it over your puffy buns. Add sesame or nigella or poppy seeds on some if you want.

Bake for 15 minutes or until they are golden and perfect.

Now the creamy egg

Take the buns out and lower the oven to 150°C.

Crack all the eggs into a bowl. Pour in the cream, add some salt and pepper, and blend it all with an immersion blender until it’s completely smooth.

Pour into your slightly greased with olive oil glass dish. Fill a tray with hot water and place it on the rack underneath the one with the egg pan. Steam creates a more humid environment in the oven, which helps the eggs cook more evenly and keep the creamy texture throughout. Bake for about 25 minutes. You want it just set with maybe a tiiiiiny jiggle in the center still. Let it cool a bit, 10 minutes, and then cut it into portions that’ll fit your buns, or in this case, do not fit your round buns, but imperfectly perfectly exceed them.

Assemble

Assemble as you want, add whatever you want, of course, it is a sandwich.

I did - mom’s spicy adjika on the bottom half first, then a nice rectangle of creamy egg, cheddar cheese, and 1 lettuce leaf lol. Oh, and some mayo. Close it up with the top bun.

Eat immediately.

This was sooooo delicious, I will be making more of these. I wanna see how they taste cold from the fridge. I really want to try this, and ideally make homemade buns too.

Let me know if you ever do!