Homemade Chelsea Buns

Upon my boyfriend's request I set about to make some chelsea buns for the first time this week! A very english bun, very fitting for the jubilee!! I love making cakes, but I haven't made any buns before so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. The process of making the dough was very similar to making bread, i.e. quite lengthy but well worth the wait!

The recipe I used came from the BBC food website; I find I always had good outcomes using their recipes and the instructions are very easy to follow. The only thing I changed was the glaze, the recipe recommended a milk and sugar glaze, but I found that this curdles and didn't look very pleasant! So I substituted a water and sugar glaze that is more commonly used as a bun glaze. This makes a lovely, sticky, toffee type glaze giving the buns a professional finish.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chelsea_buns_95015

Ingredients: 

500g strong white flour

1tsp salt

7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast

300mls milk

40g unsalted butter

1 large egg

vegetable oil for greasing

For the filling:

25g unsalted butter melted

75g soft brown sugar

2tsp ground cinnamon

150g dried mixed fruit

For the Glaze:

2 tbsp water

2tbsp caster sugar

Recipe:

• Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast.
• Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter melts and the mixture is lukewarm.
• Add the milk mixture and egg to the flour mixture and stir until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough. (You may need to add a little extra flour.
• Tip the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Knead for five minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer feels sticky.
• Lightly oil a bowl with a little of the vegetable oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn until it is covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• knock the dough back to its original size and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 0.5cm/¼in thick.

• Brush all over with the melted butter, then sprinkle over the brown sugar, cinnamon and dried fruit. Roll the dough up into a tight cylinder , cut ten 4cm/1½in slice and place them onto a lightly greased baking sheet, leaving a little space between each slice. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise for 30 minutes










• Bake the buns in the oven at 190 degrees/gas mark 5 for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.
• Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the buns from the oven and brush with the glaze, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.















Finally enjoy whilst warm with a cup of tea! a perfect english afternoon xxx