hot cross babka

hot cross babka

14 Apr 2025

When I started thinking about Easter, I knew I wanted to make something yeasted. Originally I was going to make some hot cross cinnamon rolls but with a long drive looming and with little time to bake and photograph before my midday departure, I pivoted and decided to make a babka instead.

Now just a warning - a babka is a labour of love. You do need to make the dough the day before because it benefits from an overnight rest in the fridge. Once rolled it's much easier to slice and roll the babka if the filling has firmed up a little, so you'll need another 30 minute or so sleep in the fridge. Once the babka has beeen rolled and is in the tin, you need time for it to rise. In some good news, the orange syrup that you pour over the babka can be made ahead of time.

I have made a hot cross babka before but not since I started using Nadine Ingram's hot cross bun recipe. The buns are so good, I just knew they would make an excellent babka base and it took all my will power to wait an hour for the babka to firm before I was able to remove it from the tin, slice it then photograph it for you.

Here's the recipe for you, which makes a large loaf cake, which I adapted from a Nadine Ingram recipe with babka instructions from Honey & Co. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Hot Cross Babka
Fruit Mix
45g each sultanas, raisins and currants
150 mls boiling water
1 Earl Grey tea bag
35g dried apricots, chopped or candied rind
finely grated rind of 1 orange

Dough
300g bread flour
3/4 tsp fine salt
1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp each mixed spice and ground allspice
a pinch of cloves
7g dried yeast
45g softened unsalted butter
1 tbs soft brown sugar
1 egg
150 mls milk

Filling
50g very soft unsalted butter
100g light brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch sea salt flakes
1 tbs almond meal
1 tsp syrup (golden or maple)

Topping
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of table salt) or 1-2 tbs cream
1 batch orange syrup (recipe follows)

Orange syrup
50g caster sugar
1 tbs water
60mls strained orange juice

To serve
Butter

Fruit soak
Place the sultanas, raisins and currants, tea bag and boiling water in a bowl. Set aside for an hour or until the fruit is plump. Remove the tea bag and drain the fruit well, discarding the liquid. Pat the fruit dry with a paper towel. Just before using, add the dried apricots or candied rind and the orange zest .

Dough
Sift the flour, salt and spices into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the dried yeast, butter, sugar and egg. Mix together on a low speed adding enough milk to form a sticky dough. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and mix for 7 minutes. The dough will have pulled away from the side of the bowl forming a ball. Add the fruit mixture and continue to mix until incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky at this point. Place the dough into a large lightly greased bowl. Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. You can leave it there for up to 12 hours, but not much longer or it will start to double in size.

Babka
The following day, bring the dough to room temperature. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper, allowing some overhang. In a small bowl mix the filling ingredients until they're well combined and form a smooth paste.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a very lightly floured workbench to a rectangle about 15 inches x 11 inches. You may need to flip the dough over once or twice to get an even, smooth sheet, but try to work with as little flour as you can so as not to dry the dough out.

Lay the rectangle lengthways in front of you and spread the filling in a thin layer all over. Brush the edges of the dough with some water. Lift the long edge of the dough closest to you and start rolling it up away from you, keeping it nice and tight without stretching the dough, until you end up with a sausage about 15 inches long. If it comes out a little longer, push it in from both ends to condense it a little; if it comes out shorter, then use your hands to roll it out a little until it reaches 15 inches. Press to seal the dampened end onto the roulade and then use both hands to even out the roll into a perfect thick cigar. Rest the cigar on its seam.

Trim about ¾ in/2 cm off both ends of the roulade with a serrated knife. At this stage you can chill the dough for ½ hour to firm the filling. Now use the knife to gently cut the roll into half lengthwise, starting at the top and finishing at the seam. You are essentially dividing the log into two long even halves, with the layers of dough and filling visible along the length of both halves. With the cut sides facing up, gently press together one end of each half, and then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, but this time lift the left half over the right, to create a simple, two-pronged plait. Gently squeeze together the other ends so that you are left with the two halves, intertwined, showing the filling on top. Carefully lift the cake into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a wet tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours. My babka was close to the rim of the loaf tin.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (conventional), making sure you allow plenty of time for it to heat fully before the babka has finished rising. Remove the tea towel then brush the babka with the egg wash or cream. Reduce the temperature to 180ºC, conventional, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until dark golden brown. Place the cake on the middle rack of the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If not ready, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Make the orange syrup while the babka is baking. It can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge.

Orange syrup
While the babka in the oven, make the glaze. Combine the sugar, water and the juice and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until syrupy. As soon as the babka comes out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack and douse with the syrup. Leave to cool before removing the babka from the tin or it might disintegrate. The babka will keep for 3 days, wrapped and stored in an airtight container.

I can't tell you just how delicious this still warm from the oven babka tasted. It was divine. Toasted and topped with ice cream it made for a killer dessert.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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salted peanut butter babka

salted peanut butter babka

30 Sept 2024

A few years ago I was the babka queen but it's been at least 2 years since I last made one. A few months ago I saw a recipe for salted peanut scrolls in Delicious magazine. They sounded delicious and I planned to make a batch, that is until I wondered whether a peanut butter flavoured babka was a thing.

After I discovered it was indeed a thing, I decided to make one. I used the Honey and Co babka dough recipe, then filled the babka with the Cherry Moon General store filling, then soaked it in maple flavoured syrup after taking it from the oven. Making a babka is a 2 day process. I usually make the dough and refrigerate it overnight before shaping, proving and baking.

It was quite cold  in Sydney the day I made the dough, so it took 4 hours for my filled babka to prove and instead of brunch, I had a slice for afternoon tea. Here’s the recipe for you which makes one babka, inspired by this recipe.  For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Salted Peanut Butter and Maple Babka inspired by Cherry Moon General Store
Ingredients
90 g diced unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp dried yeast
1 egg
40g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
100-125 mls milk
330 g plain flour
A pinch of table salt

Filling
100g smooth peanut butter
55g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
100g brown sugar

To finish
2 tbs melted butter or cream
Sea salt flakes

Maple flavoured syrup 
100g caster sugar
100 mls water
1½ tsp maple extract

Method
Place the butter, yeast, egg, sugar, vanilla and 100 mls of the milk in a large mixing bowl, then top with the flour and salt. Use the dough attachment on your mixer or your hands to bring it all together to a smooth, shiny dough, adding the remaining 20 mls of milk if it looks dry. Don’t worry too much if you still have some whole flecks of butter running through the dough; they will make your final bun super-light.

Once the dough has a nice texture to it, wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. You can leave it there for up to 12 hours, but not much longer or it will start to double in size.

Assembly
Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle of about 40cm x 30cm. While the dough is still cool, evenly spread with peanut butter. Combine the peanuts and the brown sugar in a bowl then sprinkle the mixture over the peanut butter.

If the dough has softened too much for you to handle it, place on a tray and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up. While you are waiting, butter a 1kg loaf tin and line the base and long sides with baking paper, making sure that there is an overhang so that you will be able to lift the baked loaf out easily.

Tightly roll up the dough from the long side. Use a pastry cutter or sharp knife to cut the log in half along its length to expose the layers. Place the halves with the cut sides facing upwards. Lift one halved log over the other so that they form a cross at their midpoints, with the filling layers still pointing upwards. Continue to twist the strands over each other until the dough looks like a lovely, twisted plait.

Place in the lined baking tin and leave to prove in a warm place until the dough is fluffy, soft and doubled in size. This will take about 1 and 1/2 hours in a warm kitchen, or up to 4 hours if it is chilly.

Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional. Brush the surface of the babka with melted butter or cream then sprinkle the top with a few salt flakes. Place the babka in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 190°C. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the tin around for an even bake and leave for another 10 minutes. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the babka is well browned and cooked through.

While the babka is in the oven, prepare the maple flavoured syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Take off the heat then add the maple extract. Set aside until needed.

Remove the babka from the oven and immediately pour the maple flavoured syrup all over the hot babka. You must let the babka cool completely in the tin or it will fall apart.

My next door neighbour loved it and came back for seconds whilst the babka was declared 'good but different' by my work colleagues and definitely was at it's best when still warm.

This was my first attempt at this babka and whilst good, I consider it a work in progress. The yeast I used to make the dough was on it's last legs, so the dough didn't rise as much as I would like and the filling was a bit dry, making it hard to twist. I think a little butter added to the peanut butter would solve this problem, so I'm keen to make the babka again, maybe drizzled with a little maple flavoured icing.  

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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swedish chocolate cinnamon buns

swedish chocolate cinnamon buns

4 Jun 2024

I don't know what came over me but with incessant rain last Saturday and inspired by a recipe in an old Delicious magazine, I suddenly decided that I needed to make a batch of chocolate cinnamon buns. They're supposed to be Swedish chocolate cardamom buns, but I do not like cardamom at all, so all traces of cardamom were removed from the recipe.

As I'm more than happy with my own sweet bun recipe, I used the filling recipe and the glaze from the magazine article then set to work. Consistency of shaping the buns is not my forte and I will never be employed in a Swedish bakery but wonky as they are, they were delicious.

Here's the recipe for you, inspired from here, which makes 9 buns. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Swedish chocolate cinnamon buns – makes 9
Dough
1¼ tsp yeast
150 mls lukewarm milk
30g brown sugar
1 room temperature egg 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (300g) plain flour 
½ tsp salt
60g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small piece

To coat

1-2 tbs cream or melted butter

Filling
85g unsalted butter, softened
85g brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla extract
17g Dutch process cocoa
Pinch salt 

Glaze
70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
40 mls (2 tbs) water
Pearl sugar, (from specialty stores, optional), to sprinkle

Dough

Grease a large plastic container and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and brown sugar in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the egg and the vanilla. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been incorporated (about 10 minutes) increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, and the dough comes away from the side of the bowl. 

Transfer the dough to the prepared container. Cover the container with a lid or with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the container and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the container and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Replace the lid or tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours.

Filling
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.

Shape the dough
Flour a work surface and knead the dough 10 to 12 times to activate the gluten. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the top lightly with flour, and cover with a tea towel and let come to room temperature. 

Grease and line a 26cm pan with baking paper and set to one side. Roll the dough out to a 30cm x 40 cm rectangle on a lightly floured bench. Spread chocolate filling over the dough, then fold in half to form a 15cm x 40cm rectangle. Gently roll the dough out to a 20cm x 40cm rectangle (this will help enclose the filling). Cut into 9 strips. Gently twist the strip, then wrap the dough around itself into a knot, tucking the ends underneath. Place on prepared trays and repeat with remaining dough. Brush each bun with some cream or melted butter, then cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for an hour or until risen by half.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Once the buns have risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake for 20-25 minutes, swapping the trays around halfway, until golden and cooked through.

The glaze

While the buns are baking, place the brown sugar and the water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly syrupy. Brush over the warm buns, and sprinkle with pearl sugar, if using. Place the buns on a cooling rack and allow to cool a little before serving. The buns are best served on the day they're baked but freeze well.

I shared these with the neighbours, and they went down a treat. 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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pistachio and lemon iced buns

pistachio and lemon iced buns

28 Apr 2024

A few weeks ago, I made a batch of iced pink finger buns, an adaptation of the recipe for pistachio and lemon iced buns from 'Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice' by Natalie Paull which was featured in a recent issue of Delicious magazine. I'd always planned to make a batch of the orginal pistachio and lemon finger buns and when invited over to a friend's place, I said I'd bring along finger buns. I tweaked the recipe a little, made the dough and the zingy lemon stuff when illness intervened, so I put the bun dough into the freezer and a few weeks later, defrosted the dough and made the buns.

There are many steps to making these buns, so I was glad I just had to make the icing and the syrup, and with an early start, the buns were ready to transport by 10.30am on Sunday morning.

Here's the recipe for you which makes 6 buns. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Pistachio and lemon iced buns, inspired by this recipe for pistachio and lemon iced buns from Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull.

Fruit soak
100g dried fruit (I used a mix of sultanas, currants and dried blueberries)
½ cup boiling water
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

 
Dough
1 and ¼ tsp yeast
135 mls lukewarm milk
30g honey
1 room temperature egg 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (300g) plain flour 
½ tsp salt
60g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

Tiff’s zingy lemon stuff (makes 150g)
2 small lemons
2 tbs (40ml) water

Fluffy cream cheese icing
125g full fat softened cream cheese
125g unsalted butter, squidgy soft 
pinch salt
40g yoghurt powder or dried milk powder
125g icing sugar

Syrup
40 mls lemon juice 
40g caster sugar

To finish
30g blanched slivered pistachios
60g butter of your choice

Fruit soak
Place the dried fruit into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for an hour before draining thoroughly and patting dry with paper towel. Stir through the grated rinds and set aside until needed.

Dough
Grease a large plastic container and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and honey in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the egg and the vanilla. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been incorporated (about 10 minutes) increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, and the dough comes away from the side of the bowl. Transfer the dough to the prepared container. The dough will be sticky, and you might need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl or container. 

Cover the container with a lid or with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Distribute the fruit soak over the dough and gently push it into the dough using your fingers. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the container and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the container and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Replace the lid or tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Icing
Place the cream cheese, butter and yoghurt or milk powder and salt in the bowl of electric stand mixer. Sift the icing sugar over the top. Beat with the paddle attachment for 10 minutes on speed 4 (below low) until pale, and fluffy. Store covered in the fridge until needed. If refrigerated, rewarm in the microwave in 20-second bursts until softened.

Zingy lemon stuff
Juice one lemon and place the juice in a non-reactive saucepan with the water. Trim the stalk end off the other lemon, halve it, and remove any visible seeds, then slice into thin half-moons and add to the lemon juice in the saucepan. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer over a low heat until all the pith is translucent. Take care the lemon doesn't catch any colour as it simmers. You can also use the microwave - cover with a lid and zap for 3 minutes on high. Cool, then whiz to a paste in a food processor, Scrape into a small container doing a final seed check, and chill.

Assembly
Spray a shallow 20cm x 30cm 5cm deep baking tray with cooking oil spray and line with baking paper. On a lightly floured counter, divide the chilled dough into six, approximately 115g portions and gently shape into balls. Leave on the counter with a tea towel over the top and rest for 10 minutes. This little pre-shape will relax the dough so you can roll evenly shaped with extra flour as possible.

Roll the balls into smooth, even diameter cigars about 15cm long. Place the dough cigars in parallel lines on the lined tray. Space them apart by 1cm so they'll touch during baking. Free-range, far apart buns won't puff as much without support from their bun buddies. Spray the tops with cooking oil and cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature for the final proof (around 1 to 1½ hours depending on room temperature) or until they're a little puffed and snuggling one another. 

Towards the end of the proof, preheat the oven to 220°C, conventional. While the buns proof, finish the icing by stirring in 50g of the zingy lemon stuff. Set aside at room temperature or refrigerate if it's a warm day. 

Syrup
Combine the juice and sugar in small non-reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 seconds, until viscous like oil. Turn the heat off and set the syrup aside to cool at room temperature. Chop the slivered pistachios into a coarse crumb.

When the buns bounce back lazily when poked, put them in the oven. Turn the heat down to 190°C conventional and bake for 18-20 minutes. The bun tops will be a light tan colour, springy to touch, and the internal temperature will be 95°C. 

As soon as the buns come out of the even, brush the syrup all over the tops and sides. Leave the tray to completely cool on a wire rack for around 1 hour. If your icing is chilled, take it out of the fridge now.

To finish 
Pull a bun away from its buddies. Using a small, sharp serrated knife, split the cooled bun lengthwise like a hot dog bun, keeping the base intact, and smooth a good smear of softened butter on each cut side. 

Press the halves back together. Load the softened icing into a piping bag with a medium plain nozzle in place. Pipe a tight squiggly spine down the top of the bun and sprinkle a pile of crushed pistachios liberally on top. Serve within an hour or two of icing the buns.

I shared the buns with my friends and their 2 daughters, who'd just returned from a swimming lesson. I'd say the buns were inhaled rather than eaten as they disappeared so quickly. They really are very delicious and as far as we're concerned they don't need to be served with butter, they are just perfect the way they are.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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iced pink finger buns

iced pink finger buns

8 Apr 2024

I've always loved an iced pink finger bun so when I saw a photo of the pistachio and lemon iced buns from Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull in the latest issue of Delicious Magazine, I knew it was time to make a batch. When I found some freeze dried raspberry powder in the baking aisle of my local supermarket on Saturday, I knew the time had come.

These finger buns were not made using Natalie's recipe, but they were inspired by the pictures. I used my ever faithful bun dough recipe, much adapted from a Sarah Keiffer recipe, with the addition of dried fruit and citrus rind as suggested by Natalie. I used orange syrup to glaze the buns, which was already lurking in my fridge but I used Natalie's cream cheese icing recipe. 

You can't make these finger buns on a whim because the dough needs an overnight rise. However, both the icing and syrup can be made ahead of time or while the buns are proving. As I'm an early riser, the buns were baked, cooled and iced by 10.00 am on Sunday morning and devoured by 10.15 am. They are so good!

Here's the recipe for you which makes 6 finger buns. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Iced pink finger buns - Inspired by the recipe for pistachio and lemon iced buns from Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull, a copy of which has been on order from my local library for quite some time.

Fruit soak
100g dried fruit (I used a mix of sultanas, currants and dried cranberries)
½ cup boiling water
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange

Dough
1 and 1/8 tsp yeast
125 mls lukewarm milk
30g honey
1 room temperature egg 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (300g) plain flour 
½ tsp salt
75g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

Syrup
40 mls orange juice or water
40g caster sugar

Fluffy cream cheese icing
125g full fat softened cream cheese
125g unsalted butter, squidgy soft 
½ tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
40g yoghurt powder or dried milk powder
125g icing sugar
10g freeze dried raspberry powder

To finish
¼ cup flaked coconut 
1 tbs freeze dried raspberry pieces 
60g butter of your choice

Fruit soak
Place the dried fruit into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for an hour before draining thoroughly and patting dry with paper towel. Stir through the grated rinds and set aside until needed.

Dough
Grease a large plastic container and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and honey in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the egg and the vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been incorporated (about 10 minutes) increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, and the dough comes away from the side of the bowl. Transfer the dough to the prepared container. 

The dough will be sticky and you might need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl or container. Cover the container with a lid or with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Distribute the fruit soak over the dough and gently push it into the dough using your fingers. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the container and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the container and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Replace the lid or tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours.

Icing
Place the cream cheese, butter and yoghurt or milk powder, vanilla and salt in the bowl of electric stand mixer. Sift the icing sugar over the top. Beat with the paddle attachment for 10 minutes on speed 4 (below low) until pale, and fluffy. Store covered in the fridge until needed. If refrigerated, rewarm in the microwave in 20-second bursts until softened.

Assembly
Spray a shallow 20cm 30cm 5cm deep baking tray with cooking oil spray and line with baking paper. On a lightly floured counter, divide the chilled dough into six, approximately 105g portions and gently shape into balls. Leave on the counter with a tea towel over the top and rest for 10 minutes. This little pre-shape will relax the dough so you can roll evenly shaped with extra flour as possible.
Roll the balls into smooth, even diameter cigars about 15cm long. Place the dough cigars in parallel lines on the lined tray. Space them apart by 1cm so they'll touch during baking. Free-range, far apart buns won't puff as much without support from their bun buddies. Spray the tops with cooking oil and cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature for the final proof  (around 1 to 1½ hours depending on room temperature) or until they're a little puffed and snuggling one another. 

Towards the end of the proof, preheat the oven to 220°C, conventional. While the buns proof, finish the icing by stirring in 10g of dried raspberry powder. Set aside at room temperature, or refrigerate if it's a warm day. 

Syrup
Combine the juice or water and sugar in small non-reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 seconds, until viscous like oil. Turn the heat off and set the syrup aside to cool at room temperature.

When the buns bounce back lazily when poked, put them in the oven. Turn the heat down to 190°C conventional and bake for 18-20 minutes. The bun tops will be a light tan colour, springy to touch, and the internal temperature will be 95°C. As soon as the buns come out of the even, brush the syrup all over the tops and sides. Leave the tray to completely cool on a wire rack for around 1 hour. If your icing is chilled, take it out of the fridge now.

To finish 
Pull a bun away from its buddies. Using a small, sharp serrated knife, split the cooled bun lengthwise like a hot dog bun, keeping the base intact, and smooth a good smear of softened butter on each cut side. Press the halves back together.

Load the softened icing into a piping bag with a medium plain nozzle in place (I used my home made St Honore tip). Pipe a tight squiggly spine down the top of the bun and sprinkle with flaked coconut and a few freeze dried raspberry pieces. Serve straight away.

Now I can't wait to make a batch of the pistachio and lemon iced buns.

Easter has been and gone and hard as it is to believe, Passover is almost upon us. I've been baking Passover treats since the end of January and next week I'll be sharing 5 bakes with you for Passover week 2024. 

See you all again next week.

Bye for now, 

Jillian

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tuscan rosemary buns

tuscan rosemary buns

24 Mar 2024

Last year I saw some delicious looking Easter buns on the Flour and Stone IG account. They were Nadine Ingram's adaptation of pan di ramarino, or Tuscan rosemary buns. Nadine in turn had been inspired by an Emiko Davies recipe, so I went straight to the source.

I do love hot cross buns but they are a little time consuming and this recipe was not. I was also intrigued by the use of savoury rosemary in a sweet bun, so I went to work slightly adapting the recipe along the way. Firstly I had to buy some rosemary as my rosemary plant died some time ago. I didn't have quite enough sultanas so I used some currants as well. I have to say that combination worked out so well, I would do that again.

I made the dough and did an overnight rise and the dough rose very high and handsome. When it came to scoring the dough, the razor blades I'd purchased for the task went missing, so I used a sharp knife instead. 

As orange and rosemary are natural partners I topped the buns with orange flavoured syrup. I was very keen to try one of the buns still warm from the oven. The buns were lightly sweet, fluffy, gently flavoured with rosemary and best of all delicious. I've made the buns a second time, using a combination of sultanas and dried blueberries, because I'd run out of currants, and they were equally delicious. I also purchased another pack of razor blades so I could score the buns. So much easier than using a serrated knife.

Here’s the recipe for you which makes 8 buns. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Tuscan rosemary buns - makes 8

Ingredients
80g sultanas or currants or a mix of both
1 Earl Grey teabag
100 mls boiling water
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
7g (1 sachet) dried yeast
180 ml lukewarm milk or water or a mixture
30g caster sugar
300g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg lightly beaten, for glazing
Butter, to serve

Orange syrup
55g caster sugar 
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
20 mls water
60 mls orange juice

Method
Place the sultanas, tea bag and 100mls boiling water in a bowl. Set aside for an hour or until fruit is plump. Drain well before using.

To infuse the oil, remove the leaves from one rosemary sprig, you should have about 5g, and chop finely. Place the olive oil into a small saucepan with the rosemary leaves and gently heat for a few minutes. Allow to cool completely.

ln a small bowl, combine the yeast with 60 mls of the warm milk and 1 tsp of the sugar. Leave covered for 10 minutes or so until a sponge has formed. Place the remaining sugar, the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture, the cooled oil and leaves and the remaining milk and using the dough hook mix until a soft dough has formed, about 5-7 minutes. Cover and leave for 20 minutes before doing a series of stretch and folds. Leave for a further 20 minutes covered in the bowl.

Place the dough onto a floured board and flatten into a rectangle. Remove the leaves from the second sprig of rosemary. Pat the sultanas dry and sprinkle over the dough along with the fresh rosemary leaves. Gently press the sultanas into the dough. Fold over corners of the dough to enclose the sultanas and rosemary and knead until evenly distributed. Form into a round, transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rest in a warm, draught-free place until doubled in size (about 1 hour). You could also cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for an overnight rise.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured board, then divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape into fist-sized buns and place on a lined baking sheet with 5cm or so space between each bun. Score the tops of the bun with a noughts-and-crosses grid using a very sharp knife or a razor blade. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place, for a further half hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. Brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg and bake at 200⁰C for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. While the buns are cooking, prepare the syrup. Place the sugar and orange rind in a small saucepan with the water and stir to dissolve. Add the orange juice then simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened. When the buns are ready, brush the tops of the still warm buns with the syrup, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter.

Like most breads, these are best eaten the day they are made but are excellent the following day toasted and served with butter and apricot jam.

Have a great Easter break and I'll see you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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