Chelsea Buns

As this most informative website explains, Chelsea buns are most certainly the forerunner of modern sweet rolls or cinnamon buns. They were enjoyed by commoners and royalty, and were concocted at a bakery known as the Chelsea Bun House, built on Pinlico Road in the Chelsea section of London (makes sense!).

Here is a modern version of the traditional British treat. Another one I will  have to try!

Chelsea Buns

The Dough

• 6 c. flour (unbleached all purpose)
• 3 eggs
• ½ c. butter, one stick (room temperature)
• 1 ¼ c. milk
• 2 packages of dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

The Filling

• 4 oz. currants (fresh or dried currants that have been plumped in warm water and drained)
• 4 oz. brown sugar mixed with 1 ½ oz. white sugar
• 4 oz. softened butter
• 2 Tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
• grated peel of 1 lemon (optional)

The Glaze

• 1 c. Sugar
• ½ c. Milk

1. Put your flour in a large mixing bowl. Work the butter into the flour thoroughly with your hands so that it is absorbed by the flour. In a separate bowl whip your eggs thoroughly.
2. To the eggs add the sugar, salt, milk (warm, not hot) and the dry yeast. Blend all of these ingredients well.
3. Pour egg mixture into the flour/butter and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Knead it with your hands until it becomes similar to bread dough. If it is a little soft, add a little flour to stiffen it some and to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
4. Cover with a warm damp cloth and set it aside in a warm place to let it proof (rise) about an hour. In the meantime have your currants, butter and sugar put into small bowls to have ready for the filling of the dough.
5. After the dough has risen you are ready to roll out the dough and put in the filling. Start by flouring your work surface so the dough doesn’t stick to it.
6. Gently punch the dough down to let out the air and work it into a ball. Roll it out into a rectangle approximately 18″ to 20″ inches by 12″ to 14″ inches and around a ½ inch thick. Lightly score the dough vertically to create three equal sections.
7. With a table knife, spread half of your softened butter on the left two sections leaving the right section uncovered. Evenly sprinkle half of the sugar over the butter and then half of the currants evenly over that. Add half of the cinnamon, if you choose to use it, over that.
8. Gently lift the right third of the dough and fold it over the center third and gently press it down. Now take those two and gently fold it over onto the left third and press down gently. You now have a rectangle one third the size you started with but three times as thick.
9. Lightly flour your work surface again and center your dough so that it looks like a rectangle again. Roll the dough out as you did before until it is as large as the rectangle size we started with. Now repeat the filling steps, but this time, spread the butter/sugar/currants/cinnamon and lemon peel (if you choose) over the whole surface. Once you’ve done that, start at the edge of the dough closest to you and proceed to roll the dough up into a pinwheel log, sealing the last half inch or so with a little water. The log should be around two inches in diameter.
10. Now take a medium sharp knife and proceed to cut the buns from one end of the “log” to the other at about an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half for each one. Lay them flat side down on a baking sheet no farther than an inch apart. As they rise in a warm place for about a half hour to forty-five minutes they should touch each other.
11. Bake them at about 375° for about 25 minutes or so (depending on the thickness of the buns). Do not bake them too long, they are to be soft not firm and should be rather square in shape. They shouldn’t be dark brown but rather light in color.
12. For the glaze, add the milk to the sugar and gently heat it, stirring until you blend the two together. Lightly spoon the glaze over each bun. This glaze is not to be like an icing but rather a thin glaze to enhance to bun’s flavor. Cool and enjoy.

Cheater Cinnamon Buns

Sometimes even those of us who love to bake enjoy a little cheat or two <shhhh>. Yesterday I had the craving for cinnamon buns but lacked the flour and shortening to make them. "Aha!" went a little voice in my brain (that happens occasionally - nothing to worry about). I remembered the loaves of frozen white bread dough in the fridge, left over from a project with my cooking class. One loaf was made into an excellent loaf of bread, of course, the other....well, let's just say I created some:


Cheater Cinnamon Buns

Cheater Cinnamon rolls, un-iced, of course

Ingredients

• Rhodes white bread dough (thawed at room temperature for approx. 2-3 hrs)
• Butter, softened
• Golden brown sugar, approx. 1/2 c
• Raisins, approx. 1/2 c 
• 2 tbsp (or more) ground cinnamon
• Pam cooking spray for baking (for pans)

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

1. Place dough on a floured surface and roll into an 8x12 rectangle (this is approximate, depending upon how elastic the dough is. If it's smaller than that, it's ok - don't worry about it!)
2. Spread the dough with softened butter. Spread brown sugar evenly on top. You may need a bit extra to cover the dough. Sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon, keeping a 1/2 inch bare space around the circumference of the dough.
3. Roll the dough as for a jelly roll, working from the long side of the rectangle. Cut into 9 rolls (larger size - 9x9 pan) or 12 rolls (smaller size - 9x13 pan) and place into greased pan sprinkled with additional brown sugar, butter pieces and a bit of cinnamon.
4. Turn off oven. Place a 9x13 pan of boiling water on lower rack (carefully) and place the buns (uncovered) on middle rack. You can add a loaf of white bread in a greased loaf pan like I did, if desired. This gives it the moist heat it needs to rise and turn out well.
5. Let rise approximately 2 hours, until fully risen (double the side)
6. Take the pan of water out of the oven, and while leaving the pan of cinnamon buns in the oven turn the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Check for done-ness after 20 minutes (knife should come in clean when put into the middle rolls). They should be golden and lovely.
7. Ice with commercial vanilla icing or create your own with confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, butter and cream.

The bottom will be slightly crispy/gooey from the brown sugar and butter mix, while the rolls themselves are fluffy and golden, with that delicious vanilla frosting. Not bad for a "cheater!"

The other loaf as bread - enough to drool about!