To a medium bowl, add: bread flour, sugar and salt. Mix it, so everything is distributed evenly.
Then add barley malt syrup, oil, eggs, sourdough starter, and water. Mix until you can’t mix anymore.
Then knead the dough until you’ve kneaded all the flour into it.
Bulk Fermentation
Put the dough in a bulking container. Level the dough, and mark on the container where the top is and where it will have grown 50%.
Then put the dough somewhere warm. I put it in my proofer set to 30°C/86°F. It took about 4 hours for me, but you should leave it until it’s grown.
Divide and pre-shape
Divide the dough into eight equally sized pieces. About 160 grams each.
Pre-shape each bun by pulling the sides towards the middle to create tension on the part facing downwards.
When it’s taut, place the dough on your unfloured counter and move your hand in circles to create a round ball. Your palm should be touching the top of the ball.
Then let them rest for 20 minutes under a dishcloth. After 20 minutes, it’s time to final shape.
Final shaping
Grab a sheet that can fit in your refrigerator and line it with parchment paper.
Take a ball, and squish it flat. Then roll it out to about 40 cm/15 inches.
Then tie a knot. Fold the piece that’s above the knot down underneath, and fold the piece underneath the knot, up and over, and into the middle.
Lastly, make sure it’s round by twisting it between your pinkies (watch the video, trust me!)
Put it underneath a dishtowel and proceed with the rest of the pieces.
Once they are all shaped, cover them with cling film, and let them proof at room temperature for 2 hours. Room temperature is around 20°C/68°F.
After the final proof, make sure they’re covered well.
Then put them in the fridge until you want to bake. The longer they stay there, the more the taste develops. Your fridge should be at or below 4°C/39°F.
Baking the rolls
Once ready to bake, heat your oven to 220°C/425°F with a pan for steaming at the bottom.
Grab the pan of rolls from the fridge. Boil a kettle of water.
Loosen the rolls from the parchment paper, and spray them with water. Dip each roll in your favorite seeds.
Put the rolls in the oven, and pour boiling water into the pan.
Close the oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
Then take out the steaming pan, and bake for 10 minutes more.
Make sure they are super crispy. If not, bake a bit more and check again.
Then take them out, and let them cool on a wire rack.