Sticky buns

I can seldom pass a bakery without stopping in to see what is coming out of the oven and sticky buns have got to be a real weakness for me and making them is quite a process but worth every minute when you see them come out of the oven and get to dig in while they are still hot. I’ve also been known to smother them in custard for a real treat. This recipe makes 9 sticky buns in a 20x20cm cake tin. Baking needs to be exact and you really do need a scale for this one so if you don’t have one pop out and get one, they are inexpensive and make all the difference to baking.

What you need

The dough

1/2 cup milk
60g unsalted butter
7g dry yeast
60ml luke warm water
375g flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
45g sugar
1 egg lightly beaten

Filling

60g currants
60g sultanas
45g brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg (about 1/4 teaspoon)
zest of 1 medium lemon

Honey glaze

100g sugar
60ml milk
60g butter
60g honey

The process

In a pot on a medium to high heat, add the water and butter, heat until the butter has melted then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

While that is cooling take your mixing bowl and pour a little hot water into to warm it up, toss out the water and then dry it, sift your flour into the warm bowl, add the salt and sugar and make a well in the center.

In a cup with a little warm water, dissolve the yeast and then into the flour well. Now add the milk and the egg and using your hands slowly draw the flour into the liquid turning the bowl as you mix until all of the flour is mixed in and you have a smooth dough. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour.

Now turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and start kneading by pressing the heel of your hand into the dough, gathering it up turning it and then again. Repeat this process for 5 minutes, we want a well kneaded dough.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise for 45 minutes and then place it onto a lightly floured surface again and roll out to a 25x40cm rectangle.

Now mix together all of the filling ingredients and sprinkle over the surface of the dough evenly leaving about a 2cm space on the edges. Roll it into a cylinder along the long edge, cut into 9 egual portions and place into the cake tin which has been lightly buttered. Leave them to rise for another 1/2 hour covered with a tea towel.

Heat your oven to 200 Celsius.

In a pot on a medium heat add all of the honey glaze ingredients and cook until the sugar has completely dissolved and the butter melted.

Pour the glaze over the buns and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Turn them out onto a rack to cool for few minutes and then break into individual portions.

That my friends is the ultimate sticky buns recipe.

You can add broken up pecan nuts instead of the sultanas as a real treat. Winter is a great time to spend some time in the kitchen, try out a few of the other baked goods recipes.