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Sep 3, 2013

Ausytes | Lithuanian Onion and Bacon Buns

Ausytes | Lithuanian Onion and Bacon Buns

Ausytes are considered a special treat during Christmas in Lithuanian homes. they are small, about three bites, with a center of an onion bacon mixture. They are passed around as an appetizer accompanied with the salutation, "Linksmu Kaledu," which means Merry Christmas! I found this recipe in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, and the author credits the recipe to a home baker whose family is from the steel mills in northern Indiana.


Ausytes | Lithuanian Onion and Bacon Buns

I'm not sure what drew me to this bread. The cookbook does not have photos, a requirement if you are going to write a cookbook these days. What it does have is incredible instructions, flawless recipes, and great stories about the individual breads. Just think, for about $20, you get 650 pages of bread recipes.

Ausytes | Lithuanian Onion and Bacon Buns

I'm particularly attracted to regional and ethnic breads, and I was also looking for a bread recipe that calls for onions for our Twelve Loaves assignment, Farmers Market. I had chosen onion, so I checked out the indices of some of my bread books. This one grabbed me immediately.

I love these rolls! They start with a brioche style dough wrapped around a small center of onions and bacon..

The bacon and onions are boiled until all of the water is boiled off, and then ultimately fried in the bacon fat. The resulting filling is then processed until it is finely chopped and then wrapped with this brioche dough. The good news? The recipe is super easy. The better news? The results are so delicious. I can understand why these rolls are reserved for celebrations.

Ausytes | Lithuanian Onion and Bacon Buns Recipe

Makes about 3 dozen rolls

Ingredients

1 pound bacon, finely sliced
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 C milk
1 stick unsalted butter
2 eggs, lightly mixed
18 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 C sugar 
1 egg beaten with T of water

Instructions

  1. Put the bacon and onion in a four quart heavy skillet, cover with just enough water to barely cover the mixture, and bring to a boil. Boil for about an hour, until the water has boiled off and the mixture has reached a golden or darker brown. 
  2. Pour the ingredients into a strainer over a bowl and strain out the fat to discard. Cool the mixture. When the onion and bacon mixture has cooled, run it through a food processor to finely grind. 
  3. Heat the milk and butter (cut into pieces) until the butter has melted. Don't bring it to a boil or scald, cool to room temperature. 
  4. Add the eggs to the milk/butter mixture and whisk. 
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the dry ingredients and whisk. 
  6. Add the liquid and mix with the dough hook. Add more flour if necessary by tablespoon until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and forms a ball on the dough hook. Knead for 15 minutes. 
  7. Place the dough into a bowl or dough rising bucket, cover, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled. 
  8. Push the dough down, and let it rise for another 30 minutes, covered in plastic wrap.
  9. Roll the dough out into a 1/2 inch slab and cut the dough into 2 1/4 inch circles. Set the circles aside, and re-roll any leftovers and cut more circles. 
  10. Press the already cut circles into slightly larger pieces, and add a tsp of the onion/bacon mixture. Wrap the dough around the mixture and place the ball, seam side down, onto a parchment lined baking sheet. 
  11. Continue to shape dough balls around the bacon/onion mixture, until done. 
  12. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and allow the dough balls to rise for about an hour. 
  13. Brush with the egg/water mixture. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. 
Linksmu Kalledu!




Look at what our very talented Twelve Loaves members have baked for September!

Would you like to comment?

  1. I have that book and began using it recently, just because of the no-picture thing, there are so many recipes I had to read them to try to imagine what the bread looked like! I hope the new edition has some pics in it. But after I tried a few, it's such a great book. These little buns remind me of filled brioche, but these have bacon! They look sensational Karen!

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    1. I resisted this book too, but finally had to get it. The instructions are pretty amazing.

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  2. Oh boy-another bread book I need to get. These little rolls are divine, Karen. Beautiful bites of bread bliss. I think you could make them every week with a different filling. Thank you for being a part of the group, Karen!

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    1. I resisted buying this one Lora, but I have no regrets.

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  4. Oh, your buns look magnificent, Karen! What a yummy surprise in the centers!!!

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  5. I've never heard of these, but they look so good I want to make them part of MY Christmas now! Great #TwelveLoaves choice!

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  6. These look wonderful! I recently made some onion-bacon jam and wondered how I might use it up this week. your buns are the perfect place for it. Thanks!

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  7. Karen...what a lovely delicate roll! I love brioche in any form. But fill it with onions and bacon...and I'll love it even more! These are beautiful!

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  8. I have an older bread book and it has very few photos. I'm actually quite used to it because so many of the "older" cookbooks didn't have photos so it doesn't bother me. I learned long ago to judge the recipe by the ingredients and instructions. Your recipe is certainly a good one. And since there are photos I have to say Wow at the pretty rolls!!

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  9. Im going to have to get that book. These look so lovely. As always you are a bread genius ;)

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  10. As a first-generation Lithuanian, I love bacon buns, but need to correct something. "Ausytes" mean "little ears" and these buns have never been called that. They are "Lasinuociai" (pronounced la-shi-nuo-chay with the accent on nuo), meaning they have bacon ("lasiniai") in them. You should change the name written for them. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you for the information! Since I'm not Lithuanian I used the name in the Bernard Clayton book. Maybe it's a name they got here in the US just in Northern Indiana in the mid 20th century. I'll add your note to the post. Thanks again.

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  11. Hi Karen! I am also a first generation Lithuanian. As anonymous has written "Ausytes" means "little ears". They are generally prepared for Christmas Eve dinner - Kučios; an approximately 4-inch square of pasta-like dough, filled with sauteed, chopped mushrooms & onions, folded into a triangular shape, and two opposing corners pinched in the center to create a little ear. My mother used to fry them and serve warm with a beetroot soup. We call our bacon buns "lašiniečiai" (a slight derivation from anonymous' description) - la-shin-yeah-chay. These are family favorites for just about any occasion.

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    1. Thank you so much for the information! I love learning about these dishes.

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  12. Hi Karen! Could I make these buns and freeze them until I am ready to bake them for Thanksgiving and Kucios

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    1. Hi Barb. I haven't tried it but it's entirely possible, especially since they're so small. Maybe try it and then a test run on one or two to see?

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  13. Hi Karen
    Lithuanian bacon buns were a treat in my family when my mother, second generation, made them. This recipe is spot on. They need the sweet dough. These can also be purchased from Racine Bakery in Chicago and shipped. Last 2 weeks in refrigerator and 6-9 months in freezer. So, I believe the same would go for these.

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