This bun found its way into South African cuisine courtesy of the French Huguenots who settled in Franschhoek in the Cape. Just as they contributed so significantly to the development of viticulture in the region, they also brought their cooking and baking traditions with them. Mosbolletjies were made during the wine-making season when unfermented grape juice (stum) was readily available.

Afrikaans for ‘stum’ or ‘must’ is ‘mos’, and ‘bolletjies’ is the Afrikaans word for ‘little balls or buns’. As a bread lover, I simply had to include a mossbolletjie recipe, but I’ve replaced grape juice with rooibos tea. .

Recipe adapted from A Taste of South Africa with the Kosher Butcher’s Wife, Penguin Random House