Recipes - Chelsea Buns
These are made from a dough not dissimilar to that of the Sally Lunn, but it is wrapped around currants and sultanas - and is indeed the same dough with which you can make hot-cross buns, Bath buns, fruit buns etc, are all variations on the same theme.
Chelsea buns were the speciality of a London bakery, The Chelsea Bun House, from the middle of the eighteenth century.
To make the basic bun dough, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
Very gently warm the milk in a pan, with the butter and sugar, to blood temperature. Take off the heat, make sure it's the right temperature - as for a baby's bottle - then crumble in the yeast. Stir to make sure it dissolves.
Add to the well in the flour, along with the beaten egg, and mix to make a dough. Knead well, cover with a cloth, and put in a warm place to prove until doubled in size, usually anything from 20-50 minutes.
Knock back the dough and knead until it is firm, with no air in it. Roll out into a large square about 1cm (1/2 in) thick.
Brush the square with melted butter, leaving a 1cm (1/2 in) margin all round. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon, then the mixed dried fruits and peel, and carefully press these down.
Roll up like a Swiss roll and cut into 16 x 2.5cm (1 in) slices. Place these carefully on to a greased, deep-sided baking sheet about 5cm (2in) apart. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to prove until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220ºC / 425ºF / Gas 7.
Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
When taken out, brush immediately with a mixture of icing sugar and enough water to make a single cream consistency. This gives the buns their characteristic white sheen.
