Chelsea Buns with Apricot Glaze

Over the bank holiday weekend I felt like baking something a bit different from my usual fare (i.e. cakes), and found this interesting looking recipe for chelsea buns on the BBC website. As ever, I made some minor modifications; I used different (and fewer) dried fruits. It also included orange peel which sounded lovely but I omitted as I had no oranges, and found out the hard way that you can't zest a clementine. Finally, I omitted the icing sugar as Pete doesn't like it, so you might want to add that if you like it. This recipe makes around 9 - 10 buns. They also freeze very well; me and Pete have been eating these buns all this week (although sadly we've now run out) and they still taste quite fresh.

This recipe does take a bit of time as you need to wait for the dough to rise, so it's a good Sunday afternoon/bank holiday recipe.

Ingredients:

For the buns:

500g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
1 x 7g sachet of dried fast action yeast
300 ml milk
40g unsalted butter
1 egg

For the filling:
25g unsalted butter
75g brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
175g mixed dried fruit of your choice: I used a pre-mix of sultanas, raisins, currants, and candied orange and lemon peel

To glaze:
1 heaped tbsp apricot jam

Instructions:

Making the dough:

1. Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl; make a well in the centre and put the yeast in.

2. In a microwave (or saucepan if you prefer), heat the milk and butter together until the butter has melted and the milk is lukewarm. It helps to break the butter up before you add it to the milk. I did this in the microwave to save on washing saucepans, and I blasted the milk and butter for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each addition.

3. Add the butter and milk to the flour along with the egg. Mix together thoroughly. You should have quite a rough looking dough.

4. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for about five minutes until smooth. Tips: flour your hands before you start kneading, and ff you find the mixture is sticky, just keep flouring the surface until you can knead it without it sticking.

5. Place a very small amount of oil in the mixing bowl you used for the dough, and place the dough back in the bowl, coating it with the oil as you do so. Cover with clingfilm and leave for an hour or so in a warm place until doubled in size.

6. Remove dough from bowl and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle approximately 20 x 30 cm / 12 x 8 inches.

You are now ready to add the filling!

Adding the filling:

7. Melt the butter (again I did this in the microwave), and brush all over your rectangle of dough.

8. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the rectangle, followed by the cinammon and dried fruit.

9. Fold over the long edge closest to you to 'seal' it in. Roll the dough from the opposite edge towards your folders edge, tightly.

10. With a sharp knife, slice the roll into 9 - 10 rounds.

11. Transfer to a greased baking tray and leave to rise for another half an hour. I placed the buns quite close together so that they joined up when cooked - this means you get a soft edge where you tear them. Whilst they are rising, preheat oven to 190 degrees C/ 375 degrees F / Gas Mark 5.

12. Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes until starting to brown.

13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before transferring to a rack. I used baking paper to line my baking tray, so I just transferred this directly to the rack as soon as I'd removed it from the oven.

You are now ready to add the glaze!

For the glaze:

14. Heat the apricot jam with a teaspoon of water. I did this in the microwave, but again you could do it in a saucepan if you prefer.

15. Brush the apricot jam over the buns, and leave to cool.