Planning for the 4th session - fruited and sweetened breads

Each of you will have the opportunity to make 9 different breads with two different doughs:

First the fruit dough for all the different fruit breads; and then the plain, sweetened dough for all the filled sweet breads. Leave the second on the table with a bowl inverted over the top.

(We’ll make the 2^nd dough a little bit sticky because we’ll have a chance to knead it a couple of times to give you some practice with the ‘Several short kneadings’ method.)

With the fruit dough we will make:

Either an apfel kuchen or a Swedish tea ring, plus Chelsea buns, spicy fruit buns and hot cross buns.

Divide it into 2 pieces and put one aside.

For AK: Roll the dough out to about 25cm (10”) long and half as wide. Place on BP and cover with slices of apple. Sprinkle the apple with 1 dessertspoon sugar mixed with 1 tsp of cinnamon. Leave to prove on top of, or near, an oven.

For STR: Roll into a rectangle a bit bigger than A4 size, spread with oil (about a dessertspoonful), sprinkle with sugar and strew flaked almonds over the top. Roll up towards you like a Swiss roll with the seam underneath. Form the dough into a circle and tuck one end inside the other (Demo). Now make a cut about halfway through the dough, at 2cm intervals round the ring. Place on tray and leave to prove on top of, or near, an oven.

Give the second dough 20 quick kneading actions and replace under the bowl.

Take the other half of the fruit dough and roll it out as per the STR – treat it just the same (leave out the almonds) right up to leaving the seam underneath.

Now divide the dough into two, and cut one of the halves into 4 equal pieces. Place on BP with the cut sides uppermost (esp. the end one!).

Now squidge the rest of the dough back together and knead it a couple of times to distribute the oil and sugar evenly.

Divide it into four rolls with the side of your hand and form bun shapes with them (Demo). Place on the baking sheet and press a cross into the top of 2 of them. Put to prove with your initial on there somewhere.

Now the sweetened dough. This will make a large jam tart, marzipan and apple tartlets, doughnuts, pain au chocolat and iced buns.

First the jam tart: Divide the dough into two pieces and roll one out to around pizza size. Cut out a square measuring about 15cm (6”), plus 6 fairly thin strips of dough. Place the square on some BP and put the strips around and across the square. Fill each square with some jam.

Marzipan and apple tartlets: Cut out 4 circles from the rest of the rolled out dough and add the trimmings to the set aside piece. Press out four small circles of marzipan and place them over the circles. Cut a quarter of an apple and cut the quarter into slices. Place two slices on top of the marzipan and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll out the rest of the sweetened dough as you did the first, and cut out 6 circles of dough. Place three on some BP and put 1/2 a teaspoon of your filling in the middle. Place the other circles over the top and pinch the doughnuts all round (Demo).

Divide the rest of the dough into golf ball size rolls. Half of these will be iced buns and half petit pain au chocolat.

Iced buns: Either leave them as round buns, or gently roll them out into finger rolls. Place on baking sheet.

Pain au chocolat: Squidge a piece of chocolate into a piece of dough and squeeze the dough together to seal. Put to prove with your initial on top of one of the buns.

Notes:

I find it a good idea to soak the fruit overnight to make them plumper and juicier. If you do that, I find a jam jar is a convenient container to use.