I’m definitely going to toot my own horn here. These are better than I had imagined. Dare I say… Perfect?
Dough:
Bakers Percentages (weight for 10-11 buns as per tutorial, this is as much dough as I felt the kitchenaid could handle)
100% (400g) strong plain flour
1% (4g) fine sea salt
15% (60g) golden caster sugar
30% (120g) active 100% hydration white starter
30% (120g) whole eggs
40% (160g) full-fat milk
30% (120g) unsalted butter
For 400g flour (scale as needed):
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp ground mixed spice
Zest of 1/2 an orange
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
15% (60g) raisins
15% (60g) sultanas
(Or 30% approx. total fruit of your choosing)
1 tea bag (I used regular everyday breakfast tea)
2-3 tsp golden rum
Crosses:
100g discard sourdough starter
20g plain flour
10g icing sugar
2 tsp vegetable oil
A pinch of salt
A little milk as needed to loosen
(You can also use straight up sourdough starter discard, as long as it’s not super runny, in which case, thicken with a little flour)
Glaze:
50g light muscovado sugar
50g golden caster sugar
50g water
20g golden rum
30g orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
Day 1:
Make the dough
Scald the milk and set aside to cool to blood temperature.
Place the fruit, rum and tea bag in a heat proof bowl, and just cover with boiling water. Mix briefly and set aside. Soak for at least 30-40 minutes, though even better if you do it overnight or in advance. Just be sure to drain the liquid off a few minutes before you want to mix the fruit into the dough.
When the milk has cooled sufficiently: place the flour, salt, sugar, citrus zests and spices into the bowl of your stand mixer and bury the spices etc in the flour. Now add the eggs, starter and milk.
Briefly mix with the paddle attachment on a low speed to a shaggy mess, making sure all the flour is hydrated and there are no dry patches. A bit lumpy and spotty is fine.
Rest for 5-10 minutes whilst you get the butter out of the fridge, cube it and bring it to a cool but pliable consistency.
Mix the dough on a medium speed for a few minutes until it starts to look more elastic and come together more, working out the lumps and messy looking patches (4-5 minutes).
Add the butter a few cubes at a time, waiting for each batch to get emulsified into the dough before adding more. Once all the butter is added and incorporated, mix the dough for a few more minutes, until it looks smooth, shiny and is starting to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Add the drained fruit, mix briefly with the mixer then fold it in with your hands, finishing with a nice S&F to tidy it up, cover and leave at room temp.
S&F every 20-30 mins, for a total of 4 times.
Now leave the dough at room temperature for another 1-2 hours, to make a total of around 4 hours at room temperature from the moment you mixed it (time depending on the ambient temperature).
Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Day 2:
Shape and prove
Next morning, take the dough out of the fridge to come to temperature for 30-45 mins. Then divide into approx. 100g portions, and then shape into tight balls, making sure all the fruit is tucked/rolled into the dough, and none sticking out.
3 options now:
Wrap and freeze for another time (in which case you will prove them at room temperature from frozen for about 8 hours then bake)
Cover, refrigerate overnight, then finish proving at room temperature in the morning for 4-5 hours before baking
Cover and prove at room temperature for 3-4 hours before baking (today)
In all the above cases you will be looking for visible growth and spongy/pillowy-ness of the dough, and you can do the finger indentation test to see the spring back (you want slow, minimal spring back, if it bounces back or feels very firm and cold, they need longer). Be aware the fruit can alter the spring back and texture so use both to judge.
Bake
Whilst the doughs are finishing their final proof at room temperature, preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan) for about 45-60 minutes so it’s nice and hot.
Make the crosses by mixing all the ingredients apart from the milk in a bowl, then loosening with milk as needed to get a pipable but not super runny consistency.
When the buns are ready to bake, remove the cover and pipe over your crosses using a 1/2 cm nozzle/hole.
Bake at 200C (180C fan) for 22-24 minutes (turn the oven down when they go in as you have preheated a little higher). You may need to turn the oven down to 180C after 15 minutes through if they are getting too dark in colour.
Meanwhile, make the glaze by placing all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heating gently to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes and turn off the heat. You can make this ahead of time too, just make sure to reheat it before use.
Once the buns are deep golden brown, nicely risen and baked through, remove from the oven and brush immediately all over with the glaze. Transfer to a wire rack until they are just warm and cool enough to eat!
If they last the day, put them in an airtight container and they’ll be good for toasting for a few days.
Example Schedule following above steps:
Day 1
1000 mix dough
1100-1300 S&F
1430/1500 put in fridge
Day 2
0730 dough out of fridge
0800 shape dough and prove at room temperature (or refrigerate/freeze for tomorrow/future)
1100-1200 bake
Alternative schedule:
Day 1
1000 mix dough
1100-1300 S&F
1430/1500 put in fridge for a few hours
1800 shape dough and refrigerate (or freeze for future)
Day 2
0700 take out of fridge and prove at room temperature
