Chelsea buns

Now to make a Chelsea bun is not as easy as it sounds, I have found it to be a little tricky but not as hard as making your own croissants, more like a brioche, but that is another story. The thing to remember is make sure that you measure out the right amount of ingredients and then make the dough and let it rest and you should be all right. And at the end of it all you should have a nice treat with your cup of tea or coffee.

For the dough you will need
500g/1lb strong white flour,
1tsp salt
7g/¼oz dried yeast or 14g/½oz fresh yeast.
300ml/10fl oz milk
40g/1½oz butter, softened at room temperature
1 egg
Vegetable oil

Filling and finishing the buns
25g/1oz butter, melted
75g/3oz soft brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
150g/5oz dried mixed fruit
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp caster sugar

Star with the dough, you will need to sift the strong white flour into the bowl. Now you can use fresh yeast and or dry yeast. If you use fresh break it up in to a bowl and add a little of the milk and some of the flour and let it start to work. If you use dry, just add it to the flour in the bowl.

Now warm the milk and the butter on the stove top, you just want it so the butter melts do not get it to hot. Them make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in your milk . If you are using fresh yeast this should go in now. Beat the egg and add that to the mix and start by folding the flour on to the liquids. Work this till the dough begins to from .

Now turn this out on a well-floured surface and kneed it until you have a good elastic dough. Now oil a bowl, put the dough in to that then oil the top of the dough, cover with cling film, and set to one side in a warm place. It takes about one hour or so fro it to double in size.

Take your dried fruits cinnamon and brown sugar and mix them all together in a bowl, you do not have to do this but it just saves time latter and you get a even mix in the filling.

Once it has risen knock back the dough, place in a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle shape, about 0.5cm/¼in thick. Brush this with the melted butter , then sprinkle on the fruit and sugar mix, get a good even coating.

Now the trick bit you have to roll the dough in to a long log shape. Now cut the log so that you get a swirly patterned bun. Lay them on a greased baking tray, then cover with a tea towel, and set to one side once more. It takes about 30 minuets fro them to rise once more.

Preheat oven to 190c/375f; once the buns have risen then pop them in the oven for about 20 minuets. You do not want them to be fully cooked when you take them out and gaze them.

While the buns are in the oven, take the milk and caster sugar and bring to the boil then simmer for a few seconds. Take the buns out of the oven, glaze with the sugar milk mix, put back in the oven, and back fro about another 8 minutes until they are golden brown. Once you have removed them from the oven glaze then buns once more and set to one side and cool on a rack.

The if you want to you can ice with a little sugar icing in a crisscross patter or as nice twist top with chopped pistachio nuts

A little fiddly to make but well wroth it in the end.