My favorite bread recipes

I love to make bread. There it just nothing better than freshly baked bread. I almost always make bread for breakfast on the weekends. There is just something special waking up to some hot and freshly baked bread in the weekend. On this page you can find my favorite bread recipes. If you are looking for Nordic bread I have a dedicated category for this.

Nordic Carrot Bread with sunflower seeds (Gulerodsbrud)

Categories: Bread/ Nordic Bread/ Traditional Danish

On this page I will share a great recipe for Nordic Carrot Bread which is stuffed with sunflower seeds and lots of shredded carrots. In Danish we call this particular type of bread Gulerodsbrud. In Denmark we traditionally made bread where we use all kinds of different nuts, grains or vegetables. Normal white toast bread is in Denmark very often substituted with for instance rye bread, grain buns or this carrot bread.

See also: Recipe for Nordic Carrot Buns

It normally takes a little longer to make Nordic inspired bread but typically it contains a lot more dietary fibers, protein and in this case vitamins from the carrots. Continue reading on and learn how easily you can make a fantastic delicious and filling Nordic carrot bread.

How to folding the carrot dough and stuffing

As already mentioned these buns are stuffed with shredded carrots and sunflower seeds. Normally when I make bread I add all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead everything into a nice and smooth dough. In this recipe the shredded carrots and the sunflower seeds are added to the dough after it has been kneaded.

The kneaded and risen dough is placed on a flour covers table and a large indent is made in the middle. The shredded carrots, seeds and a beaten egg are placed in the middle. The dough is then folded over the stuffing and cut into random smaller pieces using a dough scraper/cutter. The dough is then again folded and cut.

We are looking to gently mix the carrots and seed into the dough but without kneading it into uniform buns. The result should be random and distorted buns with pockets of delicious carrots and sunflower seeds.

Recipe for Nordic Carrot Bread with sunflower seeds

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4.50 from 4 votes

Nordic Carrot Bread with sunflower seeds (Gulerodsbrud)

Easy and very delicious recipe for Nordic Carrot bread also known as Gulerodsbrud. These buns are packed with delicious shredded carrots and sunflower seeds. Healthy and very delicious at the same time.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 10

Course: Nordic bread

Cuisine: Danish

Servings: buns

Author: NordicFoodLiving.com

Ingredients

4 dl lukewarm water
25 g fresh yeast (or equivalent dry yeast)
1 tbsp sugar
650 g all-purpose flour
50 g butter
1/2 tbsp salt
300 g carrots (coarsely shredded)
1 egg (beaten)
1 dl sunflower seeds

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the lukewarm water and dissolve the fresh yeast and sugar. If you are using dry yeast then add this in the next step.
Add the all-purpose flour, salt and butter in small pieces. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough should be assembled, soft and only a little sticky.
Cover the dough bowl with a clean dish towel and let it rise someplace warm for one hour.
Place the dough on a flour cover table. Make a large indent in the middle of dough and add a beaten egg, the sunflower seeds and the shredded carrots at the center.
Fold the dough over the stuffing so that it covers it all.
Use a dough scraper/cutter to cut through the dough at random places. Again, fold some of the dough and cut again. Try not kneading the dough but instead fold and cut it. We are looking for random and distorted buns.
Finally cut the dough into 12 buns and place them on a parchment paper cover oven plate.
Let the buns rise someplace warm for another 40 minutes.
Bake the buns in a 210 C (410 F) preheated oven for about 18 minutes. The total time in the oven might vary. Tap on the bottom of the buns - if they sound hollow then they are done.

Homemade Egg McMuffin

Categories: All Recipes/ Bread/ Breakfast/ Snacks

Why have a recipe for homemade Egg McMuffin on a blog, which is called Nordic Food and Living that might actually be a good question. For me there is actually a small history attached to the recipe I am sharing further down on this page. [Read more...]

Homemade Focaccia

Categories: Bread/ Side Dish

On this page I would like to share a fantastic recipe for homemade Focaccia bread. A Focaccia is an oven-baked type of bread which is very popular in most of the world which includes Denmark. This bread is originally from Italy and is used as a side-dish for many different meals. The bread has a consistency like a thick pizza dough and is typically served with a rosemary seasoning. [Read more...]

Nordic Walnut Bread (The Best Recipe)

Categories: Bread/ Breakfast

I love bread and I love to experimenting in the kitchen to come up with new and interesting recipes for new types of bread. This recipe I am sharing here in this blog post, is a recipe for a great walnut bread. It is not that this walnut bread is really special or fancy in anyway - it is just that I think it is super delicious and tasteful. I think the great thing about this bread is that it has a little sweetness from honey, and together with the crisp walnuts and the great taste from the malt and whole grain flour, this is one of my all-time favorite.

I personally like to serve this bread fresh together with some good cheese, preferably blue cheese or maybe together with some homemade jam. I have some simple and super delicious recipes for homemade jam posted here on my blog.

This walnut bread is partly made from whole grain flour and of cause walnuts; this makes it a nice and filling bread, which is a healthy alternative to regular white toast bread. The malt flour gives a wonderful color and a little, but delicious, burned flavor to the bread. Malt flour is made from germinated cereal grains, which has been dried using hot air. This process brings a fantastic flavor to the flour and is therefore perfect to use in bread.

Twisted Bread

As said above, this bread is not special. However, this is probably not entirely true. Another thing, which maybe makes this walnut bread a little special, is the way it is shaped. Instead of just pouring the dough into a normal bread pan, I have made a twisted bread. In order to get this special shape of the bread requires several steps, which all are really easy to preform once you get the feeling of it. You start by dividing all the dough into six equally sized pieces and roll them into long 'sausages' about 25-30 cm (10 inch) long. This will approximately be the length of the baked bread. Then you make two braided breads using three of the 'sausages' for each. Finally, you twist the two braided breads together into one large bread. Fold the two ends underneath the bread. You can follow my picture guide below.

The great thing about twisting the bread, as described above, is that it gets a beautiful top and a little but nice color variation on the inside. It is therefore a tasteful and beautiful bread, which is perfect to be served when having guests.

How to make Nordic Walnut bread

This bread is easy to make and it normally takes less than 15 minutes of working time. Of course, you have to account for the raising time, which is about 1.5 hours totally, and the baking time, which is about 30-35 minutes.

You start by dissolving the fresh yeast in the lukewarm water. If you use dry yeast, you should use the instructions on the label - typically, you just mix the dry yeast with the flour. Then you add the honey, the three types of flour, walnuts and salt and knead/mix it all into a sticky dough. I normally uses my hands but a kitchen machine can be used with advantage. The kneading time is about 10 minutes. In the beginning, the dough seems too 'wet' but after the kneading time it should be nice and smooth. After the kneading; set the dough a side somewhere warm and let it rise for about one hour.

Divide the dough into six pieces and twist it as described in the section higher up on this page. Let the twisted bread rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and sprinkle a little water inside the hot oven before putting the bread inside. This water will evaporate and help making the bread nice on the outside. Bake the bread for about 30-35 minutes until it sounds hollow when knocking on the bottom side of the bread.

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5 from 4 votes

Nordic Walnut Bread

Simpe and very delicious walnut bread. Serve it with a good slice of cheese and some homemade jam.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Side Dish

Servings: people

Ingredients

25 g fresh yeast (1 oz)
4 dl water, lukewarm (1 3/4 cups)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp malt flour (25 g / 1 oz)
375 g all-purpose flour (12 oz)
200 g whole grain wheat flour (7 oz)
150 g walnuts, coarsely chopped (5 1/3 oz)
7 g salt (1/4 oz)

Instructions

In a large bowl; dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm water. If you are using dry yeast, add this together with the flour.
Add the honey, the three types of flour and then stir/knead everything into a nice dough.
Add the chopped walnuts and the salt and knead everything into the dough. The kneading time is 5-10 minutes.
Leave the kneaded dough in the bowl, cover it with a dishtowel and set it aside some place warm. Let the dough rise for 60 minutes.
Divide the dough into six pieces and roll each pieces into long 'sausages'.
Take three sausages and connect them in one end. Braid them, and connect them at the other end. Continue the same way with the next three sausages.
Now you twist the two braided breads into one single bread. Fold the two ends under the bread.
Place the twisted bread on a parchment paper covered oven plate. Cover it with a clean dishtowel and let it rise for another 30 minutes some place warm.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
Spray a little cold water into the oven to create some water vapor. Now bake the bread for about 35 minutes. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when knocking at the bottom of it.

Homemade Hotdog Bread

Categories: Bread

Hotdogs are just a fantastic invention! It is not a traditional Nordic dish but it is still very popular especially for barbecue parties and other special events like birthdays parties and so on. The origin for hotdogs are apparently Germany even though I thought it was the US. However, today hotdogs are super popular in the hole world and therefore also in Denmark and the other Nordic countries. [Read more...]

Homemade Pita Bread

Categories: Bread

For some time I have been experimenting with making homemade pita bread and I have to say that I have been back and forth several times before I ended up with the best recipe.

What I like the most about pita bread is that you can stuff it with the exact stuffing you prefer.

My personal favorite is some pulled turkey, Avocado, corn, fresh spinach leaves, diced cucumber and of course a delicious homemade dressing. Of course, it is completely up to you what kind of filling you prefer. You might even have a traditional ingredient that you always uses. As always, I would be really happy to hear from you in the comment section below if you can suggest something great. [Read more...]

English Muffins

Categories: All Recipes/ Bread/ Breakfast/ Snacks

English Muffins is as the name perfectly applies, a type of muffin which has it origin in England. The United Kingdom is located close to the Nordic countries and is only a two hour-flight away. Even though, we have a different approach to food and how it is prepared we absolutely also share a couple of traditional dishes. I personally think that these English Muffins is actually pretty close to the Danish Krydrebolle, which is an airy bun eaten in a similar way as a English Muffins. [Read more...]

Homemade Burger Buns (The Best Recipe)

Categories: Bread

Recipe for the Best Homemade Burger buns

This recipe I am sharing here on this page is one of my all-time favorite - it is probably the recipe for bread I have made the most times. I personally think these burgers buns are the best you can get - they have a great taste, perfect color, a little crispness and soft on the inside - they are simply the best homemade burger buns if you ask me.

The recipe below will give you 16 homemade burger buns. Of course, this amount can be adjusted if you decide to make larger and fewer buns or smaller and more buns. I have sometimes used this recipe when making small burger buns for Sliders. However, the recipe is well adjusted to give 16 normally shaped buns. If you decide to make more or fewer buns then you just have to adjust the baking time accordingly. [Read more...]

Homemade Bagels

Categories: Bread/ Lunch

Bagels is just one of my favorite breakfast or lunch meals. I typically have them when I am traveling abroad - bagels are not that common in Denmark or the other Nordic countries. Even though, they are not that popular in my home country at the moment, I think that I see a trend that they start to become more and more popular. Especially, at the more trendy food places in and around Copenhagen and some of the other larger cities in Denmark. [Read more...]

American Buttermilk Biscuits

Categories: All Recipes/ Bread/ Breakfast

I am completely aware that the recipe I have here on this page and sharing with you, is traditionally very far from the Nordic kitchen. However, even though these American Buttermilk Biscuits is, as the named simply applies, originally from the states, that does not make them less delicious.

I have said it a couple of times here on my blog and on my social media channels; I really enjoy American food and in general love traveling in the states. The first time I tried an American Buttermilk Biscuit was on road trip I did on the west coast. I still remember it clearly, it was one morning at a McDonald restaurant where I was looking to get a super quick breakfast and of course use the free Internet top browse travelling trips for the day. At that time, the McDonald's in Denmark and the other Nordic countries did not serve breakfast, so I had never tried a Egg McMuffin before. The breakfast was not something special, but I instantly knew that I had to try making those Buttermilk Biscuits myself. [Read more...]

Naan Bread

Categories: Bread/ Side Dish

I know, this recipes I am sharing here in the blog post is not a traditional Danish recipe, or Nordic for that matter, but nevertheless this recipe for Naan bread is just super simple and it is a fantastic side dish for a large number of other dishes like most meat, Indian food, pasta dishes or maybe just as a starter with hummus. [Read more...]

Tacos

Categories: Bread/ Dinner

This recipe I have here on this page is without doubt within my top 3 of my favorite dinner recipes. I know that some people think this sound odd, that a simple taco can be that high on my favorite-list. Nevertheless, these homemade tacos are just fantastic and they are just a hit in my kitchen. I think it is because they are quite simple to make and only contains a few ingredients that just goes perfectly together. [Read more...]

Best Pizza Dough

Categories: Bread/ Dinner

I love pizza! A super thin and crisp pizza with tomato sauce, melted cheese, oregano and maybe some chicken is just the best invention ever. This time I would like to share my best and most simple recipe for a super easy-to-make pizza dough. Many people always buys take-out pizzas. However, if you have tried to make your own pizza from scratch you know how great that can be. Of course, it takes some more time compared to ordering from the local pizza shop. I personally think that a pizza should not always come in a cardboard box. Making your own pizza is way cheaper and you can shape and add topping exactly as you like. [Read more...]

Danish Bread Horns

Categories: Bread

This is a great recipe for some delicious and good looking bread horns. We usually make these bread horns when we are having soup. They are perfect as a side dish for both a cold or hot soup like this creamy Thai soup with ginger, chili and garlic

This is a great recipe where the bread is folded like small horns. These horns are sometimes known as butter horns. However, we prefer to call them soup horns or maybe just bread horns. They only have half the amount of butter compared to our recipe for regular butterhorns. We normally use this recipe when the horns are served together with a dinner dish. And then we like the regular butter horns, which has more butter in them, as a snack or a kind of a dessert.

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5 from 1 vote

Danish Bread Horns

Simple recipe for Danish bread horns. This bread is perfect as a side dish for most meals or maybe as a snack with a slice of cheese in the afternoon.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 45

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Danish

Servings: buns

Author: NordicFoodLiving.com

Ingredients

50 g butter
1.5 dl milk
25 g fresh yeast (or equivalent dry yeast)
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg (one for egg wash)
350 g all-purpose flour

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Melt the butter and add the milk. Let the mixture cool off so that it is lukewarm.
In a large bowl; Dissolve the yeast in the milk and butter.
Add one egg and the salt.
Add the flour step wise and knead well in-between. Depending on the quality of the flour you may need less or extra flour. Continue kneading until the dough is nice and does not stick to the side of the bowl. Set the dough aside and let it rise for about 40 minutes.
Knead the dough lightly and divide it into two pieces.
Using a rolling pin; roll the dough into a flat and circular plate; cut the flat dough into 6 slices.
Fold the horns by rolling the slices from the wide end towards the small tip.
Bend the horns a little and place them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Make sure the horns are sitting on the small tip. Otherwise the horns will open up during baking.
Beat an egg and brush the horns with it. This will give them a nice and golden color. Let them rise for another 20 minutes.
Bake the horns at 200 C (400 F) for about 12-15 minutes or until they are nice and golden. Let them cool off on an oven grid.

Sourdough

Categories: All Recipes/ Bread/ Traditional Danish

This is a simple tutorial how to make a sourdough from scratch. Sourdough is an important and great 'ingredient' when making chewy and dense bread with a crisp crust like the Danish and very popular rye bread. Making the first portion of sourdough is very easy and it only requires few and simple ingredients; all-purpose flour, rye flour and water. [Read more...]

Butterhorns with Hazelnuts

Categories: Bread/ Nordic Bread

This recipe for these butterhorns with hazelnuts is from my grandmother. However, I have changed a bit in the recipe - mostly because I can never stick to a recipe, I always experiments and change. Sometimes these butterhorns are also known as nuthorns because of the chopped hazelnuts - this is actually the name we prefer to call them.

These horns are perfect together with a cup of coffee or tea. We normally have a batch of these in the freezer - they can easily be thawed and heated in the oven and then they are almost as good as they were freshly baked - perfect for unexpected guests. We have also once used these horn as an element in a brunch.

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Butterhorns with Hazelnuts

Easy-to-follow recipe for butterhorns with hazelnut topping. Very delicious butterhorns which are perfect as a snack in the afternoon or in the lunchbox.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 40

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Danish

Servings: buns

Author: NordicFoodLiving.com

Ingredients

Dough

1.25 dl milk
25 g 1fresh yeast (or equivalent dry yeast)
100 g butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
350 g all-purpose flour

Hazelnut filling

100 g butter
100 g sugar
100 g hazelnuts, chopped

Decoration

1 egg (egg wash)
finely chopped hazelnuts

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Melt the butter; set aside and let it cool off.
In a large bowl; dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. If using dry yeast - add this with the flour instead.
Add sugar.
Add the melted and cooled butter.
Add an egg and stir.
Add the flour and salt and stir/knead until the dough has a good consistency.
Let the dough rise some place warm for about 30 minutes.
While the dough rises prepare the hazelnut filling; mix sugar, soft butter, and chopped hazelnuts together.
Divide the dough into two pieces and roll them out into to circles using a rolling pin. Divide each circle into 8 slices.
Divide the hazelnut filling onto the 16 slices and roll them so they become horns.
Place the hazelnut horns on an oven plate lined with parchment paper.
Brush the horns with a beaten egg and decorate them with finely chopped hazelnuts.
Let the horns rise for another 30 minutes.
Bake the horns at 225 C (440 F) for about 8 minutes or until they are nice and golden.

Delicious Scones with Chocolate Pieces

Categories: Bread/ Snacks

Scones with Chocolate

This recipe for scones with chocolate pieces are super easy to make and they taste very delicious. A scone is like a sweet bun or cake and is very popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is often served as an afternoon snack or together with tea or coffee. They can be bought in most bakeries and supermarkets. However, because scones are so delicious they are also widely popular in the rest of the world too. [Read more...]

Danish Birthday Buns

Categories: Bread/ Breakfast/ Traditional Danish

A traditional birthday party in Denmark is properly not that different from birthdays all over the world. It is all about getting together with friends and family, cooking some great food and then just having a good time. A birthday is not something you celebrate every day so it is alright to spend some extra time making it something special. When we are celebrating a birthday in our family the food is a big and important element - it has to be the best. This recipe for the perfect birthday buns are simple to make and super delicious. These buns are just competently ordinary and classic buns made from plain flour, butter and some sugar. They are certainly not the most healthy buns you can make but they are super delicious and that is what matters when you are celebrating a birthday.

When we are preparing for a birthday party we always have a thousand things to do before the guests arrive. These buns can easily be made days in advance and frozen in plastic bags - before serving you just reheat the buns at low heat in the oven. Then you have super delicious buns that are almost as they were freshly baked. We will recommend serving these buns with some homemade strawberry and rhubarb jam which is simple to make and real delicious.

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5 from 1 vote

Danish Birthday Buns

Easy recipe for traditional Danish birthday buns. These birthday buns are of course typically served for breakfast for birthdays in Denmark together with hot cocoa.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Danish

Keyword: Nordic birthday

Servings: buns

Author: NordicFoodLiving.com

Ingredients

6 dl milk
50 g fresh yeast
1 kg all-purpose flour
4 tsp salt
4 tbsp sugar
75 g butter
1 egg

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Heat the milk to a lukewarm temperature and dissolve the yeast in it. Add sugar and salt and stir well until both ingredients are completely dissolved.
Melt the butter, let it cool off a bit and slowly add it to the milk while stirring.
Stepwise add the flour while stirring. When the consistency of the dough gets thick use your hands to knead. The amount of flour needed depends on the quality of the flour.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave it for raising for about an hour someplace warm.
Divide the dough into 20 smaller pieces and roll them into buns. Place the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment/baking paper. Let the buns rise for another 30 minutes.
Brushed the buns with a beaten egg/egg wash. This will add a beautiful light-brown color to the buns.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Bake the buns at the center position in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

Notes

Serve the buns with some homemade strawberry and rhubarb jam. This recipe for homemade jam only has four ingredients, it is easy make and super delicious!

Braided Flutes with Sunflower Seeds

Categories: Bread/ Side Dish

When we are having bread or flutes for dinner it is more or less always according to the same recipe. We have eaten a lot of this bread ourselves but we have also used it many times when having guests. As mentioned in many of our different recipes on this blog we always try to avoid the processed food from the grocery stores - most of the processed food has an ingredients list so long and with words only an chemist would understand. And that also applies to simple food like bread. In our opinion bread should only consist of some basic ingredients like flour, water/milk, yeast and salt + some different ingredients that makes the bread delicious like nuts and seeds. Most of the time homemade bread is also a lot cheaper than the ones from the grocery store. [Read more...]

Overnight Raised Pumpkin Seed Buns

Categories: Bread/ Breakfast/ Lunch

We love bread, and in the weekends we almost always have it for breakfast. We never buy bread or buns from the grocery store, simply because freshly homemade bread are super simple to make and the taste is just much better. We live in the city and have several good shopping possibilities nearby - we still believe it is fast to mix our own dough and shape it into buns than go and get some from the store. Of cause buns from the store does not have to raise, but the time you have to work is less if you make your bread yourself. If we want to make it even easier for ourselves in the morning we make the dough the evening in advance using less yeast than normal, and then let it raise in the fridge overnight. Then we only have to shape the dough into buns and let it raise for an extra hour at room temperature. [Read more...]

Homemade Burger Buns

Categories: Bread

Hamburgers are great and we eat a lot of them. A general misunderstanding is that hamburgers are unhealthy. This is not correct! Hamburgers can be super delicious and healthy at the same time. If you just remember to use meat with a low fat content and skip all the unhealthy bacon, cheese and all the greasy sauces. I personally love my burgers with a grilled patty, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado and some ketchup. I never use all the greasy stuff that only kills the fresh taste in the vegetables.

See also: Recipe for pulled pork

When I am in a hurry I buy my burger buns at my local supermarket. However, buns you get from the supermarket does not compare at all to my home made burger buns. The recipe for burger buns I have posted on this page is my personal favorite. The buns are perfectly soft and still they have a nice crust on the outside. The secret in this recipe is that you have the buns rest under a plastic bag and a kitchen towel before you bake them. This will make sure that you keep the moist inside the buns so they become nice and soft.

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Homemade Burger Buns

Recipe for some really great homemade burger buns. Serve toasted with a juicy beef patty and fresh vegetables.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: buns

Author: NordicFoodLiving.com

Ingredients

1 dl lukewarm water
1 dl naturel yoghurt
50 g yeast
60 g soft butter
40 g sugar
1.5 tsp salt
400 g all-purpose flour
1 egg (for egg wash)
sesame seeds

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Crumble the yeast into the lukewarm water.
Add yoghurt, soft butter, sugar and salt and mix it together.
Add the flour and knead the dough. Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Make dough pieces of 90 grams (3.2 oz), shape them to 'normal' buns and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Use your hand to flatten them so that they have a thickness of about 2 cm (~1 inch). During baking they will expand into normal burger bun sizes. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and put on the buns.
Use a small pastry brush to cover the buns with an egg/water mix and sprinkle the buns with sesame. The egg/water mix will add a nice light-brown color to the buns and make sure the sesame stays on the buns.
Cover the entire baking tray with a plastic bag/plastic foil and with a kitchen towel. Put the buns a nice and warm place for about an hour. This step is important to make sure the buns become soft and delicious. The plastic bag will keep the moist inside the buns and the kitchen towel will keep them warm during the resting period.
Bake the buns at 230 C (450 F) for about 10-12 minutes.

Notes

If you want your buns to have a nice and even layer of sesame you can use this trick. Pour out sesame on a plate. Cover the top of the buns with the egg/water mix. Gently put the buns on the plate and give them a light press. Put the buns back on the baking tray.