How to Make Mossbolletjies - South Africa's Traditional Brioche - Aniseed Flavored Tear & Share Bread

Mossbolletjies are a traditional South African bread. With the sweetness and feathery texture of brioche, the flavor and aroma is enhanced with aniseed, and makes for the perfect tear and share bread.

Ingredients

1kg Cake flour
10ml Salt
100g Sugar
10g Instant yeast
30g Whole aniseed (or fennel seed)
100g Butter
250ml White grape juice
125ml Warm milk
250ml Warm water
30ml Sugar mixed with 30ml lukewarm water to brush after baking (optional)

Pour the cake flour into your stand mixer bowl, along with the salt, sugar, instant yeast and whole aniseed.
If you can't find aniseed, substitute this with whole fennel seed.
Mix this together and put it aside.

Pour the grape juice into a small saucepan and add the butter.
Heat this gently over medium low heat just until the butter has dissolved.
Remove this from the heat.
Finally, measure out the warm milk and warm water.

Place your mixer bowl on your mixer. Pour in the butter mixture, the water, and the milk.
Attach the dough hook to the mixer and knead the dough for 2 minutes on the slowest speed, followed by 6 minutes on medium slow.
Remove the bowl from the machine, cover it with cling-wrap and put this in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or doubled in size.

While the dough rises, line a large baking pan with parchment.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. The dough will be slightly sticky so you will need to flour the top of the dough as well.
Knead the dough for about 3 minutes to knock it down.
Once the dough is smooth, grab handfuls of the dough and squeeze them off from the main mass and arrange these tightly in the baking pan.
You can make the balls as big or small as you like. I wand to present these as tear and share dinner rolls, so I have made mine a little bigger than normal.
Cover the pan with cling-wrap and allow to rise again for 40 to 45 minutes in a warm place.

Bake the rolls in a preheated oven at 180c or 350f for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden in color.
Remove from the oven and turn the buns out onto a rack to cool.
Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
These little wonders are so easy to make, and I guarantee they will steal the show.