Fluffy steamed buns served with jarred sour cherries, these Hefeklösse are so simple and one of my favorite family recipes from my Oma.
Can I use a steamer basket?
I have made these with a steamer basket before and it does work but I recommend lining it with a piece of parchment paper. They may also look not as pretty but they will still be delicious!
Why do you tear them apart?
Ok so, before pouring the cherries and cherry juice over the hefeklösse, it’s super important that you tear them apart into 1/2″-1″ chunks. This allows all of the cherry goodness to absorb into the buns.
What can I use instead of Jarred Sour Cherries?
If (for some reason) you don’t like jarred/canned tart cherries, you can use any other canned fruit that comes in a light syrup/juice. Or if you want to go for a lower sugar option, I recommend making a berry compote by cooking down some raspberries and/or blueberries and pouring them over top.
Additional recipes to try
Tips for making Hefeklösse
- When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned.
- This dough is a little stiffer than many yeasted doughs so if you find that your mixer is having a hard time on low speed, I recommend kneading it by hand.
- It‘s very important to check on the hefeklösse once they are shaped, if they over proof they won’t puff up much while steaming. Once they have grown and look about twice as thick they are ready to go so I recommend turning on the water for the steaming right away after they have been cut.
- The size that you cut the dough out into is not that important as long as it’s around 3″ in diameter (this will keep the cooking time the same).
- These taste best hot and fresh! We usually start eating a batch while the next batch is steaming – also be careful because they will be hot to tear apart but just go quickly (or use 2 forks 😂).
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses just a little granulated sugar in the dough.
- Milk: The hefeklösse use milk and water as the liquid in the dough; however, they will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
- Butter: The butter adds moisture to the dough!
- Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There is one whole egg in the dough.
- Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used but you can also use active dry, just bloom it first in the warm milk!
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor to the dough.
- Jarred Sour (Tart) Cherries: Usually these can be found as tart cherries in light syrup – they are what we have always put on top of our Hefeklösse. However, see the FAQs above for more ideas.
How to make Hefeklösse
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add in the flour, sugar and yeast, then whisk to combine. Make a well in the center and pour in the warm milk, vanilla, salt, butter, and egg.
- Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on low speed until smooth and the sides of the mixing bowl are clean. About 10 – 15 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the same bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and place somewhere warmish to rise for 30-45 minutes.
Shaping
- Once the dough has doubled in size, knock out the air.
- Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is 1/2″ thick. Use the 3″ round cutter to cut out as many disks as possible. Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Leave at least 1″-2″ between them to give them space to rise.
- Re-knead the dough one more time and roll it out to cut out another set of disks.
- Cover the baking sheet with a towel or proofing bag and place somewhere warm to rise for 20-30 minutes.
- Immediately set up the steam bath.
Steaming
- Add about 2″ of water into the bottom of a large pot with a domed lid. Place a thin kitchen over the top and secure it with a rubber band or string to create a taught surface.
- Once the water is boiling, place a few hefeklösse onto the towel. Then cover with the lid and leave to cook for 10-12 minutes.
- Once finished, carefully use a fork to remove the steamed hefeklösse. Place them directly in the bowls to serve.
- Lay the next set of proofed hefeklösse on the towel to steam for 10 minutes. Continue this process until all of the buns have been steamed.
Serve
- Tear the hefeklösse into 1/2″ chunks. Then top with the cherries and juice and eat immediately.
Hefeklösse | German Steamed Buns
Fluffy steamed buns served with jarred sour cherries, these Hefeklösse are so simple and one of my favorite family recipes from my Oma.
Servings: 4
Calories: 399kcal
Ingredients
Dough
- 350 grams all purpose flour
- 12 grams granulated sugar
- 10 grams instant yeast
- 200 grams milk lukewarm
- 14 grams butter room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Topping
- 24 oz sour cherries (24 oz jar)
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add in the flour, sugar and yeast, then whisk to combine. Make a well in the center and pour in the warm milk, vanilla, salt, butter, and egg.
- Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on low speed until smooth and the sides of the mixing bowl are clean. About 10 – 15 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the same bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and place somewhere warmish to rise for 30-45 minutes.
Shape the Hefeklösse
- After the 30 minutes have passed and the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/2" thick.
- Use a 3" circle cutter to cut out as many disks as possible.
- Place the disks on a lightly floured baking sheet to proof.
- Knead the remaining dough and re roll to the same thickness. Cut out one more set of discs and place on the baking sheet to proof.
- Cover the baking sheet with a towel or proofing bag and place somewhere warm to rise for 20-30 minutes.
- Immediately set up the steam bath.
Steam the Hefeklösse
- To cook these buns, you need a large pot – ideally it will have a domed lid but if not use another pot that is the same size or a bowl with the same diameter to place upside down over the pot.
- Fill the pot with about 2" of water and place a thin dish towel over the top and secure with a rubber band or a piece of string so that the dish towel creates an almost taught surface across the top of the pot.
- Cover the towel with the domed lid, same sized pot, or same diameter bowl and turn on the heat to medium/high to bring the water to a boil.
- After the buns have doubled in size and the water is boiling, place a few of the hefeklösse on to the towel and cover with the lid and leave to steam for 10 minutes.
- Once steamed, remove the first batch from the towel and place into serving bowls.
- Repeat the steaming process with the remaining hefeklösse.
- While the next batches steam, start eating the first batch. Tear them into 1/2" chunks and top with sour cherries and juice.
Notes
- When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned.
- This dough is a little stiffer than many yeasted doughs so if you find that your mixer is having a hard time on low speed, I recommend kneading it by hand.
- It’s very important to check on the hefeklösse once they are shaped, if they over proof they won’t puff up much while steaming. Once they have grown and look about twice as thick they are ready to go so I recommend turning on the water for the steaming right away after they have been cut.
- The size that you cut the dough out into is not that important as long as it’s around 3″ in diameter (this will keep the cooking time the same).
- These taste best hot and fresh! We usually start eating a batch while the next batch is steaming – also be careful because they will be hot to tear apart but just go quickly (or use 2 forks 😂).
Nutrition
Serving: 2hefeklösse | Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 207mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 4mg
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