DAY 14, CHELSEA BUNS (CINNAMON ROLLS)

Something very indulgent and time consuming today - perfect for a long Saturday at home! Chelsea buns are the British version of cinnamon rolls, made with an enriched bread dough and filled with raisins and cinnamon. Some of my students will take the raisins out and replace them with chocolate chips no doubt...

Ingredients

bread

2 cups strong bread flour (W700)

4 tbsp butter (about 1/4 packet)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast / 1 tbsp fresh yeast (crumbled)

1 tbsp sugar

½ cup warm milk

1 egg

filling

1 cup raisins

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup melted butter

½ tsp cinnamon
glaze
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar

Add salt and butter to flour and rub in to create ‘breadcrumbs’

Add the yeast and sugar and stir.
Make a well in flour mixture and add warm milk and egg.

Bring the dough together using a wooden spoon. It should be fairly sticky.

Tip the dough on to a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Cover and set aside to prove somewhere warm, around 1 hr (until doubled in size)

poke your finger in to make sure it's risen!

Flour the work surface and bash out the rise using your fist (this is called 'knocking back')




 and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to create a large rectangle.

roll in one direction and then turn through 90º and roll again.

persuade the dough into a rectangle by 'flapping' the edges out

Spread with mixture of raisins, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Roll up from the bottom edge to make a long 'sausage'.



divide into 12 equal portions, using a ruler and a sharp knife.


Arrange in a baking tin, cover with plastic wrap and set aside somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size again

Make sure there's room between them to rise into each other

Bake at 180˚C for 40 minutes until golden brown.

To create the glaze, boil milk and sugar together in a pan until thick and glossy and reduced to a third.

Paint on to the buns whilst warm.

Serve 'tear & share' style!