The Chelsea bun is a type of currant bun that was first created in the 18th century at the Bun House in Chelsea (an area of South West London). This Bun House was famous for its Chelsea bun, and also sold lots of hot cross buns during Easter.

Chelsea buns are very similar to American cinnamon rolls. According to this blog post I found, cinnamon is optional in a Chelsea bun but mandatory in a cinnamon roll. And currants (or other dried fruits like sultanas) are optional in a cinnamon roll, but mandatory in a Chelsea bun. Cinnamon rolls have a thick glaze; Chelsea buns have a thin, almost invisible glaze.

I had never tried Chelsea buns before. They are simply AMAZING. They take a while to make but trust me, they are worth the effort!

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For the dough: sift the flour, caster sugar, yeast and salt into a large bowl.

Warm the milk in a saucepan to lukewarm.

Make a well in the middle of flour mixture.

Add the softened butter (they forgot to include this step in the book!)

Add the warm milk.

Stir until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough.

Use a cake mixer with a dough hook to knead the dough on a medium speed for 6–8 minutes, or until the dough is soft and silky. Add a little bit more flour if necessary. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a generously floured work surface, until it is smooth and elastic and no longer feels sticky.

Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about ½ cm thick and with the length around three times the width (mine was 70 cm x 25 cm). Have the long edge at the front of the work surface.

For the filling: mix the currants, sultanas, brown sugar and cinnamon together.

Brush the dough with a little water and sprinkle the fruit filling over, leaving a clear edge to allow it to stick properly when rolled up.

Roll up tightly from the front long edge, as you would a Swiss roll, making sure the final edge of the dough has enough water to seal and stick the dough together so it doesn’t come apart during cutting or baking.

Line a large baking sheet with baking paper, or grease and flour it.

Brush the roll with the melted butter, then use a sharp knife to cut the roll straight through into about 12 even pieces.

Place the dough pieces cut-side down onto the baking sheet, allowing some space between them. Cover the buns with a lightly oiled plastic wrap, so as not to let the dough surface dry out.

Place in a warm area of the kitchen until the buns are nearly doubled in size (recipe says that at a room temperature of around 21°C this should take about 40 minutes, mine took quite a bit longer given that it’s winter and the room temperature was definitely not 21°C).

To finish: pre-heat the oven to 190°C. When the buns have almost doubled in size, brush them carefully with beaten egg.

Bake for 15–20 minutes until the buns are an even golden-brown colour.

To make the glaze, heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan until boiling (recipe calls for two tablespoons of each, but I used three). Reduce the heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes.

Brush the buns with the glaze while they are still hot, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

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Chelsea Buns

From The Great New Zealand Baking Book, copyright © Michael Coughlin from Olivers at the Victoria Store

Makes: 12 | Prep time: 30 mins, plus rising | Cook time: 15-20 mins | Skill level: 2 (moderate)

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 g high-grade flour
• 30 g caster sugar
• 7 g sachet dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 300 ml milk
• 40 g unsalted butter, softened
• water, for brushing

Filling

• 2/3 cup (100 g) currants
• ¾ cup (100 g) sultanas
• 75 g soft brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 30 g butter, melted

To finish

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Method

For the dough: sift flour, caster sugar, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Warm milk in a saucepan to lukewarm (around 36°C).

Make a well in the middle of flour mixture. Add softened butter and milk, and stir until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough.

Tip dough onto a generously floured work surface. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic and no longer feels sticky. Alternatively, use a cake mixer with a dough hook and develop/knead the dough on a medium speed for 6–8 minutes, or until dough is soft and silky.

Place dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, or use a lightly oiled plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size. Knock dough back to its original size and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle, about ½ cm thick and with the length at least four times the width (e.g. 80 cm x 20 cm). Have the long edge at the front of the work surface.

For the filling: mix the fruit, sugar and cinnamon together. Brush dough with a little water and sprinkle fruit filling over, leaving a clear 2 cm edge furthest away from you to allow it to stick properly when rolled up. Roll up tightly from the front long edge, as you would a Swiss roll, making sure the final edge of the dough has enough water to seal and stick the dough together so it doesn’t come apart during cutting or baking. Grease and flour a large baking sheet.

Brush the roll with melted butter, then use a sharp knife to cut the roll straight through into 12 even pieces. Place dough pieces cut-side down onto the baking sheet, allowing about 2 cm of space between them. Cover buns with lightly oiled plastic wrap, so as not to let the dough surface dry out at all. Place in a warm area of the kitchen until buns are nearly doubled in size (at a room temperature of around 21°C this should take about 40 minutes).

To finish: pre-heat oven to 190°C. When buns have almost doubled in size, brush carefully with beaten egg and bake for 15–20 minutes until buns are an even golden-brown colour. To make a glaze, heat milk and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Remove buns from oven and brush with glaze, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Where to buy the book:

Bookreps New Zealand

Whitcoulls

Paper Plus