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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Proofing time50

Total Time1 20

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: German

Keyword: Sour Cherries, Steamed Buns

Servings:

Calories: 399kcal

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.

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.

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.

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 😂).