Fine orange steamed dumplings from the Roman pot

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g flour
• ½ cube of fresh yeast
• 40 g sugar
• 200 ml milk, lukewarm
• 1 tbsp, heaped orange zest
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 2 eggs
• 50 g butter
• 250 ml milk
• 50 g butter
• 40 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

delicately fruity pastry as a main course or dessert

For the yeast dough, sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the lukewarm milk into a cup, crumble in the yeast, and dissolve it. Add it to the flour along with the sugar, orange zest, orange juice, melted butter, and eggs and knead everything well until you have a soft and smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, until it has roughly doubled in size. Knead the dough well again. Now, for the pot, gently heat the milk, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool slightly. Place the base of the Roman pot in lukewarm water and pour in the milk, sugar, and butter mixture. Using a large spoon, scoop out about 8 tennis-ball-sized pieces of dough and carefully place them in the pot. Cover with plastic wrap. At the same time, place the lid of the Roman pot in lukewarm water to soak. Let the dough balls rise for another 20 minutes. Then lift the bottom of the pot out of the water, briefly dry the bottom on a cloth, then place the lid on top and place it on the lowest rack of the oven rack in a cold oven. Now set the oven temperature to 160°C (fan oven) and bake the steamed dumplings for 50 minutes. Do not remove the lid before the end of the baking time! Serve immediately while hot. A vanilla sauce traditionally goes well with this dish, as it won’t overpower the delicate orange flavor.