Chelsea Buns

MIX

Bring the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a big bowl. Mix the milk and the beaten egg into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.

KNEAD

Tip onto a lightly flour dusted surface and knead for 10 minutes (or use the dough hook attachment on your mixer).

 

RISE

Lightly grease the mixing bowl with some oil. Put the dough back in, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size – up to 2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. Mash together the melted butter, muscovado sugar, spice, currants and zest.

SHAPE

Knock back the dough by gently kneading just 5 times to get the air out. Roll into a 20 x 45cm rectangle and sprinkle over the currant and sugar mix. Roll up tightly from one of the long sides like a swiss roll, then cut into 16 even pinwheels slices. Grease a 23cm square tin with more butter. Arrange the slices inside in a 4 x 4 pattern with the cut-sides up.

PROVE

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4).

Cover the dough again with a clean tea towel and leave to prove until nearly doubled in size.

BAKE

Bake the tin of buns for 35 minutes until golden and the dough cooked through. Leave the buns to cool for 20 minutes in the tin, then lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle over some white icing to decorate and leave to set before tearing off buns to eat.