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image of sourdough buns spread out

Crispy Bottomed Sourdough Buns

These Crispy Bottomed Sourdough Buns are an ideal bun situation. Naturally-leavened and beautifully golden brown, they're perfect dinner buns.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 7 hours 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 8 hours
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Vegan
Servings 10 buns
Calories 211 kcal

Equipment

  • Muffin pan

Ingredients
  

  • 325g warm water (around 95°F or 35°C)
  • 90g mature sourdough starter
  • 20g olive oil, plus more for bowl + pan
  • 450g bread flour
  • 50g all-purpose flour
  • 30g sugar
  • 10g salt

Instructions
 

  • Add the water and starter to a large bowl. Use a fork to break up most of the starter into the water. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and combine using your hands until the dough is one cohesive mass. It will look like a shaggy dough but all the ingredients should be well combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
    image of dough after combining
  • Knead for 5 minutes on a flour covered surface (adding more flour as necessary) until pretty smooth.
    image of dough after kneading
  • Oil the bowl from before, place the dough in it and cover. Let rise (bulk fermentation) until it spreads across the bowl and is puffy, about 3-4 hours.
    image of dough after first rise
  • Oil a muffin pan, leaving the middle hole of the two outer three-hole rows ungreased (so ten holes are greased). Oil your hands and weigh out a ball of the dough to be about 45g. Shape the ball with two hands midair by folding four corners of the dough underneath itself to create a puffy, ball shaped top. Pinch the underneath a few times to even out the bottom a little bit. The top, round part of the bun should be prominent at this point.
    image of shaping buns
  • Place the ball, pinched side down, in the muffin pan. Avoid touching the top at the end of your shaping– it doesn’t have to look perfect. Repeat until you have 10 balls shaped and placed in the pan (oiling your hands as necessary). Don’t place any in the two ungreased holes.
    image of dough after shaping and in muffin pan
  • When you have 10 filled holes in the muffin pan, cover the pan with a plastic bag so the covering won’t touch the dough. Let rise (proof) for 2-3 hours.
  • When they are noticeably puffed over the top, preheat the oven to 425°For 218°C. After 15-20 minutes, or when your oven is more than ready, remove the covering from the dough pan. Fill the empty holes in the pan with a 0.5 inch or1.25 cm of water and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes. You may hear popping or crackling noises from your oven.
  • Remove the buns from the pan carefully by twisting or gently running a knife around the edges. Some will pop out easily and others may take some coaxing. Let cool slightly on a cooling rack or serve immediately. These are best consumed warm on the same day of baking!

Notes

Your starter should be fed 3-4 hours before making this recipe and at its peak. It should float when you add it to water.
The shaping process does NOT have to look perfect or be a perfect process. Don’t stress or fret – the buns will turn out delicious anyways.
If it’s a warm day, your counter for rising is fine. If it’s a colder day, try to find a place the dough can hang out in: around 72-80°F or 22-27°C will work (maybe in your oven or warming drawer).
After a day, the bottoms will become less crispy.