After several months of bread-baking
debacles, I finally had success with this month’s challenge, Chelsea Buns, the
selection by Tanna (My Kitchen in Half Cups), Kitchen of the Month.
I ended up making the buns twice, because the first time around, I
forgot the sugar in the filling. The
buns were still good, but not overly sweet.
When I made them the second time around, I decided to improve upon the
recipe, and the results were even better.
For the dough, I used my bread machine
(R2D2) to save wear and tear on my hands.
Round one: after I rolled out the dough, I spread
softened butter on top and sprinkled it with mixed spice and currants.
Then, I rolled up the dough, sliced it into
individual rolls (using dental floss), then placed the buns in the pans for the
final rise. One batch was in my
heart-shaped pan, the other in a square pan.
Once the buns were out of the oven and still warm, I used a milk glaze
to cover them. After the taste test, I
kept thinking something was missing, so I replayed the construction over and
over in my mind until I had my aha! moment.
Forgot the sugar for the filling.
Also, the currants kept falling out.
Obviously, I had to make them again.
Round two: I finely chopped some dried cranberries and
currants, and added them, along with some orange zest, to the dough itself. This time, when I rolled out the dough, I
remembered the sugar. I spread it, once
again, with softened butter, then, sprinkled it with mixed spice and a little
brown sugar.
I also changed up the glaze,
using some powdered sugar and orange juice.
This batch was super delicious.
To be fair, I researched Chelsea Buns,
and ended up combining several recipes.
There’s a basic dough, a mixture of fruits, and the addicting spice
mix. Definitely worth making again and again.
Basic dough
1 cup milk
1 large egg
4 tablespoons
butter (or margarine)
3 1/3 cups bread
flour
3 tablespoons
sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2
teaspoons active dry yeast
Follow
the directions for your bread machine, using a manual setting; or, mix by
hand/mixer.
Bake
rolls at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes. Glaze
will still warm.
Mixed
Spice
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons mace
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ginger
If you decide to make these yummy
Chelsea Buns and help celebrate our eleventh (11th) anniversary, and
I hope you do, send your story and photos to Tanna by February 28.
Visit the other Babes to see how they
adapted the buns to their own tastes.
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth (Kitchen of the Month)
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
- My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
- Bread Experience - Cathy
- Thyme for Cooking - Katie
- My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
- Bake My Day - Karen
- Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle
