Traditional Mosbolletjies

Historically eaten during the grape harvest, this brioche like bread first introduced by the French settlers in the Cape, is really made for sharing. My kind of bread.

Traditionally leaven with fermented grape must (‘mos’ in Afrikaans) and served with grape jam, the bread was served for breakfast, any leftover bread was dried and dunked as rusks.

Mosbolletjies has a distinct aniseed flavour (thanks to the, well aniseeds) and it pairs well with homemade salty farm butter and preserves.

24cm loaf tin & a electric mixer (its a fairly wet dough but you are welcome to use your hands to knead)

• 7g instant yeast
• 500g cake flour
• 5g salt
• 30g sugar
• 100g unsalted butter
• 15g whole aniseed
• 150ml grape juice
• 50ml whole milk
• 125ml lukewarm water

Egg Wash

• 1 egg yolk
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180c, mix the egg wash and keep aside.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and aniseed in the bowl of your electric mixer until well blended.
3. Warm the grape juice and butter gently in a separate pot until the butter is melted (don’t boil).
4. Warm the milk and water gently in another pot (yip, lots of pots) until lukewarm.
5. Add the grape juice and butter to the flour, followed by the milk and water. Mix for a minimum of 10 minutes until silky smooth and uniform.
6. Very lightly oil a large bowl, add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and leave somewhere warm until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Knock down the dough on a unfloured surface, divide into 8 tight forming balls (weighing about 50g each, you will have a little bit leftover dough).
8. Line the bread tin with baking paper, gently place the balls tightly (see pic) into the bread tin. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap in a warm place until doubled in size (up to an hour). The dough will ‘spring’ back when gently poked. Remove the plastic.
9. Lightly brush the top of the bread with the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven(180c) for 35 minutes or until golden and no visible grey under baked patches. Remove the bread from the tin immediately and remove the baking paper, let the bread cool for 20minutes before slicing. Enjoy!