Sour Cream & Chive Fantails
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe
Sour cream & chive fantails were the first project my sister, sister-in-law, and I took on together (virtually). I thought they came out great and I enjoyed them as a snack or paired with soup.
The Dough
6 tablespoons (90 grams) warm water (about 115°F)
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast (from a 1/4-ounce or 7-gram packet)
1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream or plain yogurt (I used vegan sour cream)
1 large egg
4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, melted (I used vegan butter)
3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
Whisk sugar, water & yeast together (in a mixer if you have one, or otherwise a large bowl) and let it hang out for 5 minutes to get foamy.
Whisk in sour cream, egg, and butter.
Mix in flour & salt, using the dough hook with your mixer or by hand. Knead with mixer for 5 minutes or by hand 6-8 minutes. I used the dough hook on my mixer but ended up kneading by hand because I just really enjoy feeling the dough consistency change. Plus it helps me confirm that the dough is really kneaded.
Cover in a lightly-oiled bowl for its first proof, aiming for the dough to double. I did this overnight in my fridge, taking it out for about an hour before working with it again. It doubled nicely. If you’re not going to leave it overnight, recipe indicates you need 90 to 120 minutes for the proof.
The Assembly
4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, melted (more vegan butter, and I only used 1 tablespoon because I omitted it a few times)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Two pinches fine sea salt
Flour for dusting
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish (for me this was half a large package of chives and I forgot to reserve to garnish whoops)
Muffin tin
Smitten Kitchen says to use 1 tablespoon of melted butter to brush your muffin tin but I am lazy so I sprayed mine with olive oil instead.
Stir together the onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Turn out your dough and divide in half. I recommend doing this on parchment paper or maybe directly onto a cutting board. I used a silicone baking mat at first but added parchment paper. You have to cut the dough later so you don’t want to cut on a silicone baking mat.
Roll one half to a 12 inch square, using flour if you need. I try to avoid adding excess flour. I also did not worry about sharp edges so I had more of a rounded shape.
Brush with 1/2 tablespoon of butter (which was half of the melted butter I used) and sprinkle with half to the spice mixture and half of the chives.
Cut your dough into 6 equal strips, and then stack the strips on top of each other, butter-side up. If you use parchment paper it is easy to slide a cutting board underneath for this step.
Cut your stacked dough into 6 equal pieces, and put each piece in the muffin tin on its side.
Repeat steps 4-7 with the other half of your dough.
Leave your muffin tin somewhere to proof a second time, for about an hour or until your dough really fills out the muffin cups. You can also do this overnight and bring it out before baking to return to room temperature and finish proofing if needed.
The Bake
Just before the end of the second proof, preheat the oven to 375F.
Bake the rolls until golden brown, for about 15-20 minutes. I was closer to the 15 minute side because my oven runs a little hot and I was concerned the edges might catch. Smitten Kitchen says you want the center of each to be 200F but I don’t live the fancy thermometer lifestyle so that didn’t help me.
Once they come out of the oven, Smitten Kitchen says to brush with your remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle on the garnish chives. I didn’t really think we needed more butter and I forgot to save garnish chives. I don’t think they would stick very well without the extra butter anyways.
Pop your fantails out of the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool. I let mine cool briefly in the pan before removing. Channel your patience to wait 10 minutes before sampling.
If you made this and tried any other modifications that you thought went well, let me know!