CH R I STMAS B U NS
These buns are quite sweet, and are best eaten straight out of the oven with a lot of butter and a cup of hot chocolate or strong tea. At Christmas time, I add raisins or chocolate pieces, and spice up the buns with some ground cardamom.
Makes 24 (if you wish, halve the recipe, or freeze the baked buns after they’ve cooled and defrost as needed)
INGREDIENTS
100ml double cream 30ml whole milk 50g fresh yeast
80g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt Approximately 800g white strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 egg
100ml Greek yogurt 150g butter, softened 100g raisins or 100g chocolate
chips (optional) Beaten egg, for brushing Pearl/nibbed sugar, to decorate
METHOD
Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer. Heat the
cream and milk until finger-warm (36-37C), then
break the yeast into the liquid. Stir until dissolved, then tip into the mixer bowl. Add the sugar and ground cardamom, then stir again. Add the salt to the flour, then start to spoon it into the bowl bit by bit until about half is used up. Next, add the egg, yogurt and softened butter as you keep mixing. Continue to add the rest of the flour – you might not need it all. Keep mixing until you have a dough that is a bit sticky, but starting to let go of the sides of the bowl. This will take five to seven minutes. The dough is ready to rise when it starts to let go of the sides of the bowl. If using, add the raisins or chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 35-40 minutes until
doubled in size. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface,
then knead with your hands, adding more flour if needed. Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll
them until uniformly round. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, cover again and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Brush each bun lightly with egg, then sprinkle over pearl sugar if using.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until baked through (this will vary depending on
your oven). Remove from the oven and cover with a damp tea towel for five minutes if you prefer buns without a hard crust. Serve sliced and open with butter or Scandinavian cheese.