Kirsch-Rohrnudeln

A german version of the popular Pull Apart Buns but with a slight twist - they have fresh pitted cherries in them.  With its soft, springy texture, I am sure that they will be a hit with the kids.

Ingredients (yields 16 buns):
600 g flour (type 550) or plain flour (type 405)
80 g fine sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp salt
40 g butter, to be gently melted
250 ml warm water (straight from the tap)
1 cube à 42 g fresh yeast, to be crumbled

32 fresh cherries, to be washed, dried & pitted
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk to be mixed with 1 tbsp fresh cream (for brushing top)
2 x 24 cm diameter pans

Glaze Ingredients (to be mixed together):
100 g icing sugar
about 1-2 tbsp water

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, egg white, salt and melted butter.  In a small jug, mix warm water and crumbled yeast together.  Stir until yeast is dissolved and add to mixing bowl.  Knead dough until it leaves the sides of bowl.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside to let dough rise to double its volume - it takes about an hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 16 portions of about 64 g each.  Flatten each portion and place two cherries on it.  Enclose cherries with dough and twist the top. Sprinkle castor sugar on the base of pan and arrange dough with pinch side down as shown.  You can also arrange them on a baking tray if preferred.

Leave to rise for about 30 minutes.  Then, glaze top of buns with egg yolk/cream mixture.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at 170° C for 25 minutes.  Once done, brush top with icing sugar/water mixture while still hot.  This is how the cross-section of a bun looks like:

Serve buns as they are or just sprinkled with icing sugar on top and serve with vanilla sauce.

Happy Baking!