Kimbula Banis

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gstrong white flour
• 80 gsugar
• 10 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 1egg
• 80 gbutter, softened

Sugar crust

• 100 gcaster sugar
• or 100 g demerara sugar
• 1beaten egg, to brush
• or a little milk

Sometimes added

• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• a pinch of ground cardamom
• a little grated coconut

To serve

• plain tea
• from a Sri Lankan bakery
• in the afternoon

Directions

1. Butter, egg, milk and sugar all go into it. That makes it soft and slightly cakey. Allow more time than for a plain bread. Warm the milk to blood temperature. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar into it.
2. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle of it. Pour in the foaming yeast milk. Beat the egg and add it in as well. Bring it together into a soft dough. Adding the butter is done separately. Knead the dough for about five minutes first. Add it in small pieces at a time.
3. Butter added at the start slows gluten forming. Keep working and it comes back together. Kneading it takes real patience. Knead it for a further ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm.
4. Let it roughly double in size. Give it an hour and a half at least. Divide it into even sized pieces. Roll each one into a smooth ball. The bun should be an elongated oval. Set the shaped buns on a lined tray. Cover them loosely with a cloth.
5. Let them prove for forty minutes. They should look visibly puffed. Use a very sharp knife or a razor. Make diagonal cuts across the top. Space them about two centimetres apart. Cut about half a centimetre deep. Cut in one confident stroke each time. Do not saw at the dough at all.
6. Adjust it once you have seen the result. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Scatter sugar generously over them. Caster sugar melts into a thin glassy crust. Heat the oven to one hundred and ninety degrees. Bake them for about eighteen minutes.
7. Turn the tray halfway through. Judging them takes a careful look. Cover them loosely with foil if they darken. Let them cool for at least twenty minutes. The sugar crust is soft while hot. Steam would soften the crust entirely. Set them out whole on a plate. Serve plain tea alongside them. They keep two days in a sealed tin.

Technique

• Kimbula is Sinhala for crocodile and banis comes from the English bun, so the name describes the scored ridges along the top; those cuts open up as the bun rises and bakes, and their depth controls how open the ridges get.
• This is an enriched dough where fat coats the flour and sugar competes with the yeast for water, both of which slow the rise, so allow considerably more time than for a plain bread; work the butter in after the first five minutes of kneading rather than at the start.
• The sugar crust is soft while hot and only crisps as it cools, so judging it straight from the oven is misleading; cool the buns uncovered on a rack, since trapped steam would soften the crust entirely.

Substitutions

• Demerara sugar gives visible crunchy grains where caster melts to a glassy crust.
• Milk brushed on works in place of egg wash for the sugar to stick to.

Variations

• Some bakeries add a little cardamom or vanilla to the dough.
• Grated coconut is worked into the dough in some versions.
• Both caster and demerara sugar crusts are made in Sri Lanka.

History

A Sri Lankan bakery staple whose name means crocodile bun, for the scored ridges along its top.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kimbula Banis?

Kimbula Banis is a bread & pastry from Sri Lanka: ridged sugar-crusted bun shaped like a crocodile’s back, eaten with plain tea. A Sri Lankan bakery staple whose name means crocodile bun, for the scored ridges along its top.

How long does Kimbula Banis take to make?

Kimbula Banis takes 40 minutes plus rising of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 10 buns. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kimbula Banis?

Yes, within limits. Demerara sugar gives visible crunchy grains where caster melts to a glassy crust. Milk brushed on works in place of egg wash for the sugar to stick to.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kimbula Banis?

Let them prove for forty minutes. They should look visibly puffed. Use a very sharp knife or a razor. Make diagonal cuts across the top. Space them about two centimetres apart. Cut about half a centimetre deep. Cut in one confident stroke each time. Do not saw at the dough at all.