Buchty (Sweet Jam-Filled Buns)

sweet jam filled buns in a baking pan

The title of this post might be one of the strangest titles I have ever used.

So let me make it clear to you.

The word ‘buchty‘ is a plural form of a word ‘buchta’. So there’s one buchta, and there are two or three buchty.

Fun, ha?

Okay, that did not really make things more clear. So let me tell you a bit more. The word buchta or buchty not only sounds fun but it really exists.

Whoa, right?

Actually, it is a proper word of my native language, which is Slovak and it is spoken by a couple of people who live in Slovakia (a small country in the very heart of Europe). When these people say buchta you now know they are talking about a wonderful baked jam-filled bun that many of them are kind of addicted to.

The fact is that not only me but many generations of my ancestors grew up on this delicious and simple dessert. It is been here for hundreds of years, and we’ve all loved it, so who knows, maybe you will like it too.

Frankly, I am sure you will…

 

 

sweet jam filled buns ingredients

Here’s what we need to make our own buchty.

I just love using that word in English text.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns yeasty dough rising in a bowl

1. First, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (the all-purpose flour, the cake flour, the instant dry yeast, the sugar, and the salt).

2. Add the lukewarm milk (2 cups – 480 ml), the eggs and egg yolk, the vanilla extract, and the vegetable oil.

3. Knead, either by hand or with your electric mixer, until the dough is smooth and less sticky.

The dough should be somewhere between firm and runny, so you can use a little more milk or a little more flour to make it look alright.

For the sake of tradition, I kneaded the dough by hand and it took me about 15 minutes to get the consistency I liked.

 

sweet jam filled buns risen yeasty dough

4. Place the dough into a large and oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm space and allow it to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns rolled out dough

5. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 1 tablespoon of flour into it.

6. Place the dough ball on a well floured work surface.

7. Roll it out until it’s about 14 inches tall (35 cm) and about 17 inches (42 cm) wide.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns how to cut the dough into squares

8. Cut the dough in 2 3/4 x 2 3/4-inch (7 x 7 cm) squares.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns filling the cut squares with fruit jam

9. With your finger or with the end of a wooden spoon, make a shallow hole in the middle of each square.

10. Then place about 1 1/2 tsp jam in the center of each square.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns folding the filled squares to form a bun

11. Carefully, fold each square in half.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns folding jam filled squares to for a load or bun

12. Pinch the dough to secure all seams.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns dough before baking picture

13. Invert the bun seam side down and make sure the side seams are secured and tucked under the bun.

Let’s give that jam minimal chances to leak.

We have now ended up with a kind of irregular log. The logs don’t necessarily need to be the same shape – this is a rustic dessert, after all.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns jam filled dough bun loaf brushing with oil

14. Brush the sides of each bun with generous amount of vegetable oil. That will prevent the buns from sticking together while baking.

Note: You do not need to place your buchty so close to each other – they will be even more fluffy if they have more space to rise!

 

 

sweet jam filled buns before baking in a baking pan

15. Now brush a deeper baking pan with vegetable oil generously and place the buns next to each other.

I later found out that my pan (12 x 8 inches /32 x 20 cm) was not big enough so I baked the buns in two batches.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns in a baking pan

16. Cover the buns with a kitchen towel and allow them to rest for additional 20 minutes.

17. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).

 

 

baked sweet jam filled buns out of the oven

18. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden-brown.

 

 

baked sweet jam filled buns out of the oven brush with warm milk and sugar

19. Remove from the oven.

20. Combine the warm milk (1/4 cup – 60 ml) with 1 tbsp sugar and brush the top of each buchta (hehe) with this mixture. It will make the surface of each bun nice and soft.

 

 

sweet jam filled buns on a plate dusted with sugar

21. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

These babies can be also filled with cream cheese-sugar mixture. Or any other mixture that will make you happy.

Enjoy, dear friends!

Love,
Petra

(This recipe makes 30 buns.)

 

54 thoughts on “Buchty (Sweet Jam-Filled Buns)

  1. 1
    Jess says:

    Hey Petra, thanks for another great recipe I HAVE to try nom nom nom! Just one thing though, what are all-purpose and cake flour? We have plain and self raising here in UK, is that the same thing? Am thinking I might put Nutella in my Buchty if I get to make them or maybe pb&j mmmmmm or maybe some lemon curd ooooh there’s SOOO many possibilities! 😉

    • 1.1
      zoom yummy says:

      Hi Jess! I’m really glad that the buchty are making their way to the UK. You can use the plain flour, that will be alright. Do not use the self raising kind, that would be too much raising. Love, Petra 🙂

  2. 2
    Lanina says:

    OMG!! i love ya Buchty :)) unfortunately, i still could not go out to shop with one sick foot. hubby is tide up with work and now i have another increased recipes from you that i really want to make pronto! This Buchta is definitely in my list, the shopping lists are easy to get, too. Thank you for sharing with pictures along with it, Petra. xoxo

    • 2.1
      zoom yummy says:

      Hello, hello! Foot still sick? So sorry for you! You need to make these really soon! 🙂 Petra

      • 2.1.1
        Lanina says:

        … still on crutches for the next 4 weeks, doc said 🙁 Yes, i am going to make it REEEALLY SOON. i was in the kitchen and i saw i have all the ingredients for my Buchty including Cake Flour, whoohooo. Thank you for highlighting not to use SR flour, Petra. i have cream cheese, so i am going to fill that in. i hope no visitor tomorrow, i want to be left alone! 🙂 hugs from Germany xoxo

        • zoom yummy says:

          oh, great, happy baking to you! Hugs to you too, we are almost neighbors! 🙂 Petra

          • Lanina says:

            Petraaaaaaaa.. yummy, yummy. i baked Butchy an hour ago and it was wunderbar!! i ate only 3 small Butchy because i have dinner invitation to go soon. i will post my imperfect Buchty on your facebook. Thank you again and again 🙂 By the way, mind telling me where are you? ⎝⓿⏝⓿⎠ xoxo

  3. 3
    Lenna says:

    Hello Petra, thanks for a nice recipe! I love “buchty”, especially since it is also a typical treat in my country – I am from the Czech Republic 🙂 This is the first time I am visiting your blog and I really love it, I am looking forward to reading more 🙂
    Lena

  4. 4
    Winnie says:

    OMG – these look wonderful!! Never heard of “buchty” but I’d love eat one right now.
    I love to bake with yeast, and I’m definitely gonna try this recipe
    Thanks for the tutorial 🙂

  5. 5
    Clotilde says:

    Oh my, this is so painful! I’m on a diet and they look divine!!! I can’t wait for Christmas, they would be an awesome treat!

  6. 6
    Jean says:

    These look great! I’m wondering if I make them the day before, will they be good the next morning?

  7. 7
    Barbara says:

    In German they are called Buchteln ( Buchtel for the singular ). I never had a recipe for them so I was tickled to read your post. Can’t wait to make them!

  8. 8
    CoCO says:

    So, so lovely …..
    I ♥ it !
    😉

  9. 9
    vesna says:

    here in Slovenia we call those “buhtli” and yes, they are super delicious! 🙂

  10. 10
    michaela says:

    mnaaaaam, hned doma upeciem

  11. 11
    SamCyn says:

    Yummy, Yum, Yum!! 🙂

  12. 12
    Linda says:

    I want to make this recipe with a can of almond paste that needs to be used now…

  13. 13
    sara says:

    These look fantastic…super cute and delicious! 🙂

  14. 14
    Citra says:

    Oh my God, those babies look so cute!

    You can never go wrong with bun and jam, I’m going to try this out! Thanks Petra, What a cool blog you have! 😉

  15. 15
    Nev says:

    Haha, in Bulgaria buchty is the equivalent of doughnut holes and what you have made here is called kifla (singular) 😀 I loved the recipe and will be sure to try it out as soon as possible. Just a question, what does the cake flour add to the dough consistency? I saw in the comments that it can be substitutes, but was just wondering 🙂

  16. 16
    Lili says:

    That looks GREAT! One thing though, can I use whole wheat flour?

  17. 17
    Pam Smith says:

    I’ve been looking for this recipe for some time. When I was young my Grandmother Justina, who was Czech, use to make Buchty for us. We so loved all her baking but especially this one – real comfort food. We never wrote the recipe down. I’m so excited to have found it and can’t wait to try it. I’m sending it off to my younger brother who will probably be more excited then me. Thanks Petra. You’ve helped us rediscover a piece of our family tradition and heritage! P.S. Thanks also for the metric translation – makes making the recipe much easier!

  18. 18
    Petra says:

    Hi Pam! Yay, I am very happy for you. This is great news!!! Enjoy! 🙂 Petra

  19. 19
    Joan says:

    just to tell you that i have made this wounderful dessert for my family and made 30 but didnt last long here they loved it and my daughters are now asking me for the rescipes so i gave the you web site ty for your recipes soi deliches.

  20. 20
    Joan says:

    just to tell you that i have made this wounderful dessert for my family and made 30 but didnt last long here they loved it and my daughters are now asking me for the rescipes so i gave the your web site ty for your recipes soi deliches.

    • 20.1
      zoom yummy says:

      Hi Joan! I am very pleased that you and your family liked this recipe. It is one of my favorites too… 🙂 Petra

  21. 21
    Gaby says:

    I love it! Realy beautiful and Delicious!

  22. 22
    Janka says:

    Hi. I am Slvak living in Amerika and I was looking for this recipe with USA flour for long time. Thanks a lot for sharing :-)).

  23. 23
    Audrey says:

    if the milk is not warm enough will the dough not firm up?

  24. 24
    Lauren Fox says:

    Hey! wow! i love Buchty! will definitely be using that word till i die. made these, theyre B-E-A-U-TIFUL. yay!!

  25. 25
    Lauren Fox says:

    Loooooveeeeeeeeee from NZ! hehe…Buchty…hehe

  26. 26
    Lauren Fox says:

    Loooooveeeeeeeeee from NZ! hehe…Buchty…

  27. 27
    Peter Kolbé says:

    My (yorkshire) mother used to make a version of buchty as directed by my (moravian) father but with fresh plums – has any one else heard of this ? Peter

    • 27.1
      Ivorydaisy says:

      yeah…. as same my mother from Moravian always made buchty with fresh or plums jam. I love the best plums with buchta. Yummy! =)

  28. 28
    imran says:

    Apparently, it appeared to be a wonderful one, but it turned out to be pretty nightmarish. Well, the proportion of liquid to solids appears to be inadequate, at least for the type of flour available here. I used white plain flour and the mixture was way too thin to hold itself.
    I would try to half the quantity of milk and give it another go. Any suggestions ?

    • 28.1
      Emilia says:

      I had the same problem, the liquid and dry ingredient ratio in this recipe is way off! I ended up adding up to 3 extra cups of flower, and I’m letting my dough rise at the moment. I will post about my result, keeping my fingers crossed!

  29. 29
    Emilia says:

    The recipe provides the wrong flour to liquid ratio. After following the recipe exactly I had to add two extra cups of all purpose just to form a sticky dough… And then I added about a cup more while kneading until the dough no longer stuck to my fingers. If you plan on making this and end up with a wet mess adding a few more cups of flour will help. In the end this turned out delicious and I plan on making it much more often!

  30. 30
    Kris Cooke says:

    This is what I have been wanting. My grandmother was from Pisek and she brought this pastry to our family. We all loved it. She made it with a prune filling. Have you ever made it like that????If the pastry was filled she called it buchty but if filling was visible in center of pastry, it was called something else like kalachy???? My mom died 20 years ago and grandmother died in 1958.

  31. 31
    Gary Gemmell says:

    Hmmm thats not how we make Buchty in Presov – In order to make it properly you need farola and its not baked its steamed and a we put Mak and Chocolada in the centre – much better than Jam!

    Different recipe perhaps but all the shops – even tesco sell the steamed Buchta???

  32. 32
    Jackie says:

    I am of Czech lineage and have been spoiled by these wonderful treats. I have a question…..my Baba used to make buchta (1), or at least that is what she called them. They would be served with sugar on them, and resembled a small round donut filled with prune. Do you know if it would be the same recipe, but fried? I so want to make them…what wonderful memories!

  33. 33
    Josh buchta says:

    My last name is buchta….I have to try making these now…..would it be considered canibalism?

  34. 34
    Shaindy says:

    Just made these! They are divine 🙂 had one fresh out of the oven mmmmmm

  35. 35

    My wife and I formally known as “The Buchta’s” now after reading Buchty… Are going to make Buchty for our Christmas dessert. Let you know the feedback from the Buchty family. Thanks Petra for posting receipe!

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