Bird's Nest Cherry Buns

Ingredients:

Dough

• 250 ml milk

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 6 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil

• 800 g (28 oz) flour

• 50 g (1,7 oz) dairy butter

• 50 g (1,7 oz) compressed yeast

• vanilla – to taste

Filling

• 400-500 g (14-17,5 oz) sour cherries

• 200 g (7 oz) sugar

• 1 tbsp starch
   

Directions:​

1. Prepare all the ingredients beforehand – they should be warmed to room temperature before you start cooking.

2. Sift flour to enrich it with oxygen.

3. Wash cherries under running water thoroughly, remove pits from berries and place them on a colander to let excessive juice and water drain.

4. Easy steps to make predough  

5. Pour warm milk (not hot and not cold) into a pan and add 1 tbsp of sugar, 50 g (1,7 oz) of yeast, and 200 g (7 oz) of flour. Mix all ingredients carefully. The predough should have a consistency of thick sour cream. Cover it with a towel and set aside for 20 minutes to rise (you can put the bowl in a warm place).

6. Meanwhile, let’s combine remaining 5 tbsp of sugar, melted dairy butter (you can substitute butter with margarine if you wish), 4 eggs (leave one yolk – we’ll need it to grease our buns), and salt. Mix thoroughly until smooth. Add the prepared mass to the predough and stir to combine.

7. How to befriend with yeast dough?

8. Now we’ll knead the dough by adding flour gradually. At first, let’s add 200 g (7 oz) of flour and vanilla. Mix everything carefully. Now add 200 g (7 oz) of flour again and continue to knead the dough. Then add 200 g (7 oz) of flour more. The dough should not stick to your hands (if necessary, you can add more flour – the amount of flour may depend on the type of flour you use). Now let’s pour sunflower oil above and continue to knead the dough to make it smooth and elastic.

9. You can knead the dough in a bowl. If it’s not comfortable for you, you can knead it on a table.

10. At the end leave the dough in a bowl covering it with a towel. In 20 minutes punch the dough. In 20-30 minutes punch the dough for the second time (this will fill the dough with oxygen and help it rise).

11. Interesting facts about baking the Ukrainian wedding bread

12. In the past, when Ukrainian women baked wedding karavai (round loaf bread), they sang songs and cooked in a good mood in order to bake a good round loaf bread. There was a belief that if karavai looks and tastes well, then a newly married couple will have a happy life.

13. The craft of shaping perfect buns

14. Combine sugar and starch.

15. Grease the table with sunflower oil and transfer the dough there. I divided the dough into 20 little balls and my buns were rather big in size. If you prefer little buns, then you can divide the dough into 30-40 balls.

16. Grease the balls with sunflower oil and cover them with food wrap. Leave for 5 minutes to let the dough “rest.”

17. Take one ball and roll it in the form of a circle. Arrange cherries in the center of a ball (the amount of cherries depends on the size of your circle – I put around 6-8 cherries). Top the cherries with 1 tbsp of sugar-starch mass.

18. Make 3 equal cuts with a knife. Take one piece of dough and join the edges. Then take the second part of the dough and also connect the edges. At the end take the third piece and after joining the edges hide them under the bun. You’ll get a cherry bun in the form of a rose. Repeat the procedure to use all the dough.

19. Cover a baking tray with foil and grease it with oil. Arrange the buns on the tray and let them rise a little putting in a warm place. Grease the buns with the yolk combined with some water, let them dry a little, and put the buns in an oven preheated to 220°C (428°F). Bake the buns for 25 minutes at 220°C (428°F).