Seems like Fall is in the air as I’m finding myself seeking all kinds of excuses to stay home and bake.

Yesterday I stumbled upon this blog  Almond Corner and was absolutely thrilled by the recipes on there and fascinated by the photography.  A Maltese saying goes L-ewwel Ma Tiekol L-Ghajn…and it is so true with anything.  Loosely translated, it means that the eye is the first to eat…as now I’m completely hooked.

As soon as I saw these braided buns, I knew I had to make them.  I felt slightly uneasy at first as I had to convert the weight to my lbs and ozs…I know, I’m still living in the middle ages.  But besides that, I also halved the recipe and used my bread machine.  I thought the recipe called for a bit too much yeast so I adjusted it to what I thought was a good amount.  And even after all that, I was blown away by the result!

So here’s my adaptation for these delightful buns.  As you can see from my photos, I attempted braiding them but after the second try, I aborted the mission and resorted to forming them my way as I was getting myself into a knot too.

Ingredients

1lb all purpose unbleached flour
1 oz sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10 oz milk
4 1/2 oz butter
3 tbs oil
1 egg
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

Warm the milk until it’s luke warm.

Put all the ingredients in your bread machine and set on the dough cycle.

When the cycle is done, take out the dough, cut into about sixteen equal portions and form into rolls or if you’re brave enough, into braids.  You can find instructions on here

Brush each with a beaten egg and bake.  After they’re done baking for about 15-18 mins, brush with some melted butter and put them back in the oven for a short while. (I skipped this step this time, but will definitely do it next time.)  These are best eaten on the first day.

I had mine with a bit of cream and jam…mmm