Friday 12 April 2013

Sticky Buns - Bread Challenge No.15

So a month ago I set myself a challenge of completing 15 or more different bread recipes with the finishing date set at 11th April and hey, guess what, that's today!!
My former employer used to despair of me as I wasnt as organised as him and his wife and I remember him one day saying to me "you always deliver but it always at the 11th hour". To me so long as I deliver what does it matter that it's at the 11th hour? So that's what I'm doing today, delivering to you challenge number 15 at the 11th hour!!!!!
It's been a great challenge. I wouldnt say I'm a master at bread making but I have a much better understanding now of :
How yeast works,
Why it's important that the fluid added to the dry ingredients is lukewarm,
Allowing time for the dough to rise
Punching the risen dough to disperse the air
And, especially, use some decent strong flour and not a cheaper version!!!!

I'm sure I learnt much more but they are my main things and now I'm delighted to share with you my final challenge of Sticky Buns, the recipe of which came from  The Great British Bake Off cookbook. I am dieting at the moment so had to resist temptation of eating a whole bun but the litttle bite I had was delicious.
So here goes, the final bread challenge recipe.
Ingredients:
200ml Milk
75g Butter
500g Strong white Bread Flour
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1x 7g Sachet fast Action Yeast
For The Filling:
50g Butter
75g Light Brown Muscavado Sugar
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
For The Topping:
100g butter, softened
75g Light Brown Muscavado Sugar
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
100g Walnut Pieces

Method:
Heat the milk and butter in a pan until the butter just melts, then remove from the heat to cool until lukewarm.
Mix the flour,salt,sugar and yeast in a bowl. Beat the egg into the milk/butter mixture then add to the dry ingredients and mix together to form a soft, but not sticky, dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10minutes until very smooth and pliable. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to rise.

Punch down the dough then turn out onto a lightly floured work top and roll out to a rectangle about 24x48cm. Brush the melted butter over the dough. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Staring from one long edge, lightly roll up the dough like a swiss roll, then, using a sharp knife, cut across into 12 slices. (If you're wondering why I only have 6, I did half the recipe quantity to resist temptation of eating them all!!)
Slightly flatten each one gently with your palm.
For the topping, beat the butter,sugar and maple syrup until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of a greased baking tray. Scatter over the nuts and gently press in. Arrange the buns cut side up in the tin spaced evenly apart. Cover and leave til doubled in size.
Uncover and bake in a pre heated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 or until buns are golden brown and the caramel topping is bubbling around the sides. Leave for a couple of minutes (no longer) then carefully remove each one from the tray, and turn over and cool on a wire rack. Best eaten warm
So there you go the final Bread Challenge. Thanks for joining me. The next challenge is being carefully considered. Stay tuned!!

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