Pain Au Lait

One of my wishes for 2015 was to stop buying non artisan bread. No room for classical New Year's resolutions here; it always fails! The kids love bread: they eat it all day long. It is a traditional part of our breakfast and besides being always available during the main meals of the day, they will ask for a labneh or jam sandwich as a snack. I make a lot of bread at home but their favorite kind are the sliders buns and “pain au lait”. Ideal size, easy handle, soft texture and great support for any sweet or savory filling. I no longer buy prepackaged bread and make pain au lait at home, as often as required.

The pain au lait recipe is easy, cute and delicious. It is also a great support for different “bun” shapes. It can be baked plain or topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coarse salt, herbs etc…
My talented friend and fellow blogger suggested I use the pain au lait recipe to make sticky buns. It was a brilliant idea. Thank you Traci! :)



Pain Au Lait

Recipe credits: Rafaella Sargi
Makes approx. 18 Pains au Lait (50g) each

Pain Au Lait Ingredients*
250 g Milk, lukewarm
500 g Bread Flour, sifted
50 g Granulated Sugar
10 g Salt
1 Egg
75 g Butter, room temperature
10 g Honey
10 g Active Dry Yeast
All Purpose Flour, for dusting and shaping…

Egg wash ingredients
1 Egg and two tablespoons of water lightly beaten.

Scale and prep all the ingredients.
You will need a stand mixer fitted with the hook (bread attachment), food safe plastic wrap, a scale, a pastry scraper (or knife), baking sheets and parchment paper.
You will also need a small bowl and a brush for the egg wash.

Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on the lowest speed for 12 minutes. Form a ball, put it back in the bowl of the stand mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest and rise for 90 to 120 minutes until double in size.

Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and dust them very lightly with flour.

Dust a clean working surface with a little bit of flour. Place the risen dough and deflate by slightly pressing down on the dough with your hands. Using a scraper, portion the dough and scale all the portions to be of the same weight**. 
Shape small buns with each weighted dough portion. Place on the prepared baking sheets stem side down. Arrange them with enough space between each other for a second rise and the "oven spring".
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest and rise again for 30 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 425F (220C).
Brush each risen bun with a little of egg wash. Use a brush to do so and be careful not to drip egg wash on the parchment paper. (You want pain au lait, not pain au lait on an omelet!!)
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden.

*Baking ingredients and measurements are in grams for best results. Most kitchen scales display results in both the US and international metric systems.
**Weighting each dough portion will give you homogeneous baked goods and require the same baking time in the oven.