CHELSEA BUNS (UNDERCOVER)

[More pics at the foot of the post]

Chelsea buns are just one of a number of varieties of breads that can be made from a simple fruit dough. Have a look here for several more:

Huddled together, proving

Ingredients:

300g strong white flour

2 dessertspoons sugar

2 teaspoons mixed spice

200g dried fruit (currants, sultanas or raisins plus mixed peel)

1 dessertspoon fresh yeast or 1 teaspoon dried yeast

200ml lukewarm liquid

Good splash of olive oil                        

Filling:

1 dessertspoon olive oil

Sugar to sprinkle

Topping:

Brush with a glaze made with 1 dessertspoon sugar and 2 dessertspoons boiling water.

Method:

1. Place the flour, sugar, spice and dried fruit into a mixing bowl, and mix to distribute the ingredients. Measure the water and stir in the yeast until it dissolves (dried yeast takes longer to dissolve than fresh). Add the yeast liquid to the dry ingredients, and add the olive oil if using.

2. Have a little water to hand to add if necessary, remember, it is better for your dough to be wetter (slack) rather than drier (tight).

3. Mix into a sticky dough - if it's not sticky add another 25g of water to make it so - and knead for 10-20 seconds.

4. Dip your hands in a little flour and rub off as much of the dough sticking to your hands as you can before you wash them. Invert the bowl over your dough and leave for 10-20 minutes.

5. Knead it again for a short period and leave it as before.

6. Knead for a third time - and this time you should notice that the dough is less and less sticky. Once again leave it for a bit.

7. When you're happy with the dough, leave it - covered - for at least an hour if you can.Cover and leave to prove for an hour or so.

8. When you're ready to proceed, roll the dough out into a rectangle, 40cm by 25cm, with the long edges across in front of you. Brush with oil, leaving a centimetre gap along the bottom edge and sprinkle with the sugar. Roll up the dough towards you, along the long side, as you would a Swiss roll. Cut into 10-12 pieces and place, cut side uppermost on a prepared baking sheet.

9. Cover with a dry tea towel and leave to prove on your worktop until the buns have grown appreciably in size.

10. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes at 220C 425F or gas mark 7, checking the colour underneath the buns – they should be browned evenly across the bottom. You may need to remove the buns on the outside, which have browned underneath, and replace the others in the oven, upside down if necessary. Brush them with the glaze when they come out of the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Undercover method:

9. Place the buns on a piece of baking parchment so that they are just touching. Place the paper on a baking tray and cover with a roasting dish. Leave until the rolls are roughly doubled in size then bake at 220C for 20 minutes before removing the roasting dish. Continue baking until the top of the rolls are browned sufficiently - say 5-10 minutes. Brush them with the glaze when they come out of the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Brushed with a sugar glaze and sprinkled with sugar

This next batch was made with 400g of flour - the other ingredients were increased accordingly:

Placed 1cm apart

Now risen and huddled together

Finished off with sugar glaze and a sprinkle of sugar