Apologies for the lateness of this post! I had a big race yesterday, and have been very busy prepping for that/recovering afterwards (not that the recovery is over yet...). However, this weekend I just about squeezed in enough time to bake my GBBO bake of the week. This week was all about bread, and I really want to give all three challenges a go at some point.
Due to limited time, I knew I wouldn't be able to get a decent Showstopper attempt done - the intricate korovai wedding bread looked a bit too fancy for me! One to do when I don't have a crazy weekend perhaps. I also wasn't planning to eat Indian food, and so making the technical challenge of the garlic naan breads seemed like it'd be a waste.
For these reasons I made my variation of the signature challenge - Chelsea buns. I followed Dan's recipe for the dough (great recipe!), but changed the rest of the recipe. I filled these buns with a mixture of dessicated coconut, brown sugar and rum infused sultanas, some of my favourite flavours!! I then topped the buns with a sticky ginger glaze and a rum icing. Very decadent, yet not too over-the-top, perfect for a mid-morning snack (or a very sweet breakfast?).
Again, as I was busy, there were a few steps where I left the dough for a while in the fridge. After I'd made the dough and left it to rise for a few hours, I realised I needed to go out to get bits and pieces, and visit some friends in the evening. I placed the dough (in the bowl) in the fridge until I got home a few hours later. I then rolled out, filled, re-rolled and cut the buns, and left them covered in the fridge for nearly 24 hours! I was worried they'd over-prove, but actually they ended up lovely and light, packed with flavour! True, they're not as neat as the bakers made in the tent, but I'm very happy with them.
Makes 9
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 200ml milk (I used 0% fat)
- 50g margarine/butter
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 10g fast-action dried yeast
- 2 eggs
For the filling:
- 75g dessicated coconut
- 50g very soft butter
- 125g sultanas
- 50 ml coconut rum
- 100g light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
For the glaze:
- 50g granulated sugar
- 75ml water
- 1 tsp ground ginger
For the icing:
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- Around 2 tbsp coconut rum
Method:
1. Prepare the dough. Pour the milk into the jug with the butter/margarine. Place in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, just until the butter has melted. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
2. To the stand mixer bowl, add the caster sugar, salt and flour, followed by the spices, yeast, and the eggs. Turn the mixer onto a low-medium speed and mix for around 10 minutes.
3. Cover and leave to prove for at least an hour, until it has doubled in size. This depends on the temperature - when its cooler, this can take a lot longer. As mentioned above, I left mine for 2 hours, then placed it in the fridge for another few hours whilst I went out shopping - this didn't seem to be detrimental to the dough.
4. Whilst the dough is proving make the dough by pouring the rum and sultanas into a small saucepan and placing on a low heat. Bring the rum to a light simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the sultanas are juicy. Set aside to cool.
5. Mix together the brown sugar, spices and dessicated coconut.
6. Dust your work surface with flour and tip out your dough onto the floured surface. Roll out the dough until it about a 35 cm square.
7. Evenly spread the butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle over the sugar/coconut. Scatter over the rum infused sultanas.
8. Roll the dough up as tightly as possible (to get as many swirls as you can). Slice into 9 even rounds.
9. Grease a 20 cm roasting tin (or a 20 x 30 cm baking tray with deep sides if you have one), and gently transfer the dough rolls to the tray, leaving a few cm gap between each roll. Cover and leave to prove for at least another hour - as I mentioned above, I left mine in the fridge overnight - they lost a bit of shape but still tasted great. If you do this, make sure to bring the rolls back to room temperature before baking.
10. Bake for around 35 minutes, until the tops are golden. Leave to cool for around 15 minutes whilst you make the glaze.
11. To make the glaze pour the sugar, water and ground ginger into a saucepan and place on a hob on a low heat. Leave to boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has reduced by about half, then turn off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
12. Use a pastry brush to spread the syrup over the warm buns, and allow to seep in and for the buns to completely cool to room temperature.
13. Make the icing by sifting the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add one tablespoon of the rum, and stir in, then gradually add more rum until the icing is thick enough that when lifted from the bowl it runs off the spoon into the mixture and leaves a visible trail on top of the mixture that stays there for a few seconds. Spoon into a piping bag and trim off the end.
14. Pipe lines of icing over each bun and leave to set.
15. Tear off buns and enjoy!
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