This is a recipe requires 3 rises before being baked. It is well worth starting this
recipe in the morning.
Ingredients
500g strong white
bread flour
10g salt
75g caster sugar
10g instant yeast
40g unsalted
butter, softened
2 medium eggs,
beaten
120ml warm whole
milk
120ml cool water
150g white
chocolate cut up into chunks (a little bigger than chocolate drops)
120g dried
apricots, chopped until into six pieces
2tsp ground
cinnamon
1/2 - 1tsp ground
cloves
1/2 - 1tsp ground
cardamom (or warm milk with crushed cardamom pods and then sieve as I found
this hard to find in the shops)
2sp ground nutmeg
For the Crosses
75g plain flour
75ml water
1 egg beaten
For the Glaze
7 apricot jam with 1tbsp boiling water
Or
2tbsp caster sugar
mixed with 2tbsp boiling water
Instructions
1) Put the four
into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the
bowl and the yeast to the other side. Add the butter, eggs, milk and half
of the water and turn the mixture around with your fingers. Continue to
add the water, a little at a time until you have picked up all of the
flour. You may need a little more water or have a little left over, this
will depend on your flour. You want a soft dough but not a soggy dough.
2) Tip the dough onto a lightly
floured surface and begin the knead. Keep kneading for 5 - 10 minutes
until the dough is silky smooth and feels soft with a slight shine. You
will know if I is kneaded enough if you pull a bit of dough off and do
the window pane test (see pic).
Stretch the dough between your fingers to form a square. If you
can se the light though the dough it has ben kneaded enough. If he dough
is tearing before you can make a window of dough continue kneading.
3) When the dough is
silky soft and smooth, put it into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with
a tea towel or cling film, and leave to rise for at least an hour or
until doubled in size. I tend to rise mine for about 2 - 3 hours at room
temperature.
4) After the first rise, tip the dough onto a lightly
floured (or oiled) surface, scatter
the spices, chocolate and apricots on top of the dough a bit at a
time and knead in until well incorporated and even. Put back into the oiled bowl (might
need to reapply a little oil) and leave to rise covered in cling film or
a teas towel for a second time. This rise will take a little longer than
the previous rise as it is having to lift up all of the fruit and
chocolate.
5) After this rise, fold the dough inwards
repeating until the air has been knocked out. Divide the dough into 100g
pieces and roll into balls. To make knead balls you want to fold the
dough from the outer edges into the center. Then flip the ball over and
use the base of your palms to pinch he bottom of the dough, sealing the
edges and making the outer skin of the dough ball tense. Check out this
video for instructions! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRk96GA_GF0
6) Place each dough ball onto a
baking tray covered in baking paper. Place them about 2 - 3cms apart so
that they will just touch one another when they have proved (risen in
their final baking shape).
7) Place the baking
tray in a poly-bag or two so the dough doesn't form a tough skin while rising. Try to keep the bag from toughing the dough. Leave the dough to rise one final time. When they are ready to go in the
oven they will be twice the size of the original balls.
8) Mid way through this rise
put the oven onto 200'C to get hot before baking, the best bread goes
into a really hot preheated oven.
9) When the dough balls are big
enough for cooking (don't rush this stage or they will be nasty and
dense!) mix up the plain flour
with the water and make a paste. Put this into a piping bag (if you don't
have any make one using baking paper like this http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/technique/how-make-piping-bag or I tend to use a sandwich
bag with a snip in a corner). Then pipe in long lines across the touching
buns to make the crosses.
10) Finally whip up an egg, add
1tbsp cold water and mix it in. Then using a pastry bush (or old clean
paint brush), brush the egg wash over the buns, trying to avoid the crosses
as best as possible. This will give the buns a lovely colour in the oven.
Leave in the oven for 15 - 20 mins.