We had a friend over for Easter dinner and so I was able to use up some dough in my fridge that I had used for sweet Chelsea buns a bit ago. I didn't post about it because it was basically the same Paul Hollywood recipe that I had posted years ago as part of a Bread Baking Babes challenge.
This time the buns were going with a savory dinner...ham, sweet potatoes, salad, pie...so I chose to flavor and fill them with rosemary and cheddar, respectively.
This dough is easy to work with and so I kneaded in the chopped fresh rosemary, flattened the dough into a rectangle, added some soft butter and then sprinkled on the shredded sharp cheddar. Once that's done, you roll it up like a Swiss roll and cut into buns with dental floss or a sharp knife.
The buns take a little while to rise, covered with a damp tea towel or oiled plastic wrap, but when you bake them at 350 for 20-25 minutes, you are rewarded with beautiful rolls with melted cheddar in the middle, plus your kitchen smells like rolls and rosemary, which is hard to beat!
I'm not giving exact measurements for this, but I did take photos to give you the picture. The rosemary can be whatever amount you choose, but I used about 2 tablespoons, minced. There was probably about the same amount of butter and about a cup of cheddar shreds. The dough was half the recipe below.
If you want to go the extra mile, brush the tops of the buns before baking with a little milk or egg wash.
Bake and enjoy!
Happy Easter!
Chelsea Bun Dough (use half for the savory buns as described above)
Based on recipe By: http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/chelsea-bun-christmas-tree/
Serving Size: 15
Ingredients:
Dough
800 g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting (I used 400 g bread flour and 200 g white whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon salt
15 g sachet fast-acting yeast (about two packets of American dry yeast)
400 ml milk (I used same amount of soy creamer)
60 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing (I used same amount of non-dairy margarine)
2 free-range eggs
Directions:
1. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other side.
2. Warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is melted and the mixture is lukewarm.
3. Pour into the flour mixture, add the eggs and stir thoroughly until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough. The dough will be sticky.
4. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead well for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Alternatively this can be done in a stand mixer using a dough hook.
5. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and leave to rise, covered with a damp tea towel, for one hour or until doubled in size.
6. Check to see that dough has risen enough by poking with your finger. The poke should not fill up right away.
7. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead in the minced fresh rosemary. Roll out dough into a rectangle.
8. Tack down the long side of the dough rectangle nearest to you by pressing it down onto the work surface with your thumb. Use a small offset spatula to make a thin layer all over with the non-dairy 'butter', leaving a 1" uncovered edge along the long edge. When you roll up the dough, roll from the opposite long edge. Then sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the dough leaving a 1" border. Roll the opposite long side of the dough towards you quite tightly, until the roll is complete and tight. Trim the ends to neaten.
9. With a sharp knife, or crossed dental floss, cut into thick rounds - about 1.5in.
10. Line a very large baking tray (or use the grill tray from your oven) with baking parchment or oil.
11. Arrange rolls on the prepared tray, cut side up. You want them to be close enough so that when they rise further and then bake; they will bake with their sides touching. They can then be pulled apart and you get a lovely soft edge.
12. Cover loosely and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes.
13. Preheat oven to 350 F.
14. When the buns are ready, put them in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden-brown.