Chelsea Buns
Ingredients (makes 12 buns)
For the dough:
500 grams of strong white bread flour
300-350 ml of warm whole milk (3.5% fat min.)
100 grams of white sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
50 grams of melted butter
30-35 grams of fresh bakers yeast
For the filling:
120-150 grams of very soft butter
200 grams of good quality dried currants
150-200 grams of soft natural dark Muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
2-3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
Extra butter for greasing a large pie dish
For the finishing touch:
3-4 tablespoons of warm whole milk (3.5% fat min.)
2 tablespoons of soft natural dark Muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Method:- Sift the flour into a large bowl, making a shallow depression in the centre.
- Add half the warm milk and stir the yeast into a paste, cover with a cloth and leave to prove for at least 30 minutes or until the yeast paste is bubbling strongly.
In the meantime:- Gently heat the remaining milk dissolving the white sugar, butter and salt in it. Set aside to cool to room temperature or you might kill off the yeast.
Method, continued:- Stir the milk, butter and salt mixture into the flour making sure there are no 'lumps' left in it.
- Leave to prove for up to an hour or until the dough mixture has roughly doubled in size.
In the meantime:- Place the butter for the filling somewhere warm, so it will be soft enough to spread onto the uncooked dough later.
- Heat the 3-4 tablespoons of whole milk, dissolving all the ingredients from the finishing touches into it. Set aside and leave to cool down.
- Grease a large pie dish (at least 20x30 cm / 8x12”) with the extra butter and set aside.
Method, continued:- Remove the dough from the bowl, knead on a flour dusted worktop thoroughly for at least 15 minutes.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangular piece about 60x30 cm / 24x12”.
- Spread the soft butter for the filling evenly over the dough.
- Evenly sprinkle with dried currants.
- Evenly sprinkle with Muscovado.
- Liberally dust with lots of ground cinnamon.
- Roll up from the longest side into a tight cylinder.
- Cut into 12 equal slices (this is best done by cutting the cylinder in half and then each piece into thirds).
- Place the slices, cut side down, into the pie dish, I arrange them in a 4x3 pattern, making sure there is sufficient space for the dough to rise later.
Cooking:- Preheat the oven to 210 C (190 C for most fan ovens).
- Bake for approx. 30-40 minutes or until golden brown in the middle of the oven. Make sure you check that they are done by pricking them with a wooden skewer. If the skewer comes out mostly clean, they are cooked.
- Remove from oven, brush liberally with the milk, sugar and cinnamon mixture and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes. This is what makes Chelsea Buns acquire that polished shine.
- Remove once cooked but leave in the pie dish as they will need to cool off completely before being cut.
Notes:- This is a very rich recipe and even the fully cooked Chelsea Buns can still feel somewhat squidgy, one of the trademarks of the truly good Chelsea Bun.
- You may have to resort to using a spatula in order to remove the whole set of buns from the dish.
- Once cooled and removed from the dish, cut into 12 individual buns, roughly along the lines where they originally touched.
- I have adapted the original recipe based on what we used to be able to buy from one of the only remaining bakeries in Southend that were still capable of making what I’d call a ‘proper’ Chelsea Bun. The ones that when the baker puts them into a paper bag, you’d hardly be able to walk round the corner before all the butter oozing out from their bottoms would have soaked through the bag, putting you in imminent danger of losing your most prized possession.
Dos and don’ts and a million variations:- This is one hell of a versatile recipe. You can try adapting it to your taste but I would suggest you initially stick to adapting the filling before you embark on the changing the actual dough recipe.
- You can add or reduce the amounts of sugar, butter, dried fruit and spice. There is no law to say you can’t use raisins or any other dried fruit or even mixtures of them.
- Don’t like cinnamon? No problem, anything that’s good for a sweet baking experience can be used, it just won’t be a true Chelsea Bun but so what.
- You could leave nearly all the sugar out from the dough recipe in preparation for turning this into a savoury bun.
- Try that dough adaptation and fill with a only a little whey butter, lots of strong grated cheese and herbs such as chives or try spreading with your favourite mustard or mustard powder.
- Even filling with finely minced beef or our favourite lamb mince with plenty of mint sauce (only ever use Coleman’s Mint Sauce or disappointment is inevitable).
- Always remember, if you can roll it into a cylindrical shape, you can make it into a new form of bun and the above cooking times should be sufficient for all your ideas.
- Should you stumble upon a nice adaptation of this magnificent recipe, do let me know. I’m always eager to try something new and exiting.
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PDF file attached, see below.