Makes 200g/ml syrup (enough to soak up to 9 buns)
I like to brush most sweet baked goods with sugar syrup while they are hot out of the oven. It helps them keep moist, gives them a lovely shiny gloss and simply makes them tastier. You can of course eat them without it, but the dough is somewhere between sweet and savory and I think it benefits from the addition of the base sugar syrup.
I use this syrup in other ways too: making iced teas or syrup cakes, or simply on fruit that needs a little love if it isn’t at its prime. I tend to make ten times the amount in this recipe, using a liter of water, and store it in a bottle in the fridge, ready to use when needed (it’ll keep for a while). However, the amount here will be good for the recipes in this chapter.
100g/ml water
100g granulated sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup or honey
Place all the ingredients in a small pan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam that comes to the top and remove from the heat. If you are making a larger quantity (a liter or more), bring to the boil, skim and cook for 3–4 minutes, then allow to cool. You can make this syrup in advance—just keep it in a jar or bottle in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 8 buns
For simple, slightly sweet bread rolls that work well with light fillings such as egg salad, cream cheese and salmon, labaneh and cucumber and the like.
Make a batch of basic bun dough (here) and set in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Line a flat baking tray with some baking parchment.
Divide the dough into eight pieces. Roll each one between your palm and the work surface until the dough forms a tight, round, shiny ball. Place on the baking tray, leaving about 2–3 inches between each one to allow them space to rise (no need to cover, as you want them to form a light crust).
Preheat the oven to 425°F/400°F convection. Once the buns have doubled in size, brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of table salt) and sprinkle with whatever seeds you have lying around—sesame, poppy, sunflower and nigella seeds all work well individually, or together if you want a funkier look. Sprinkle on some sea salt flakes too and place the buns in the center of the oven for 8–10 minutes. They should have a lovely golden color once baked.
Makes 6–8 buns
We are great fans of a good Chelsea bun. A spiral of rich dough crammed full of currants and butter, it’s been a staple of British baking for the last three centuries, spreading beyond the borders of its neighborhood of origin and bringing it much pride. This is our humble tribute to it, and to the part of London that is such a happy home for us. In our more deluded moments we imagine how, 300 years from now, it’ll make Fitzrovia as famous as Chelsea, since these buns are just as good as their ancestors. If you can get hold of mahleb, you are in for a truly exotic treat—it marries so well with the pistachios and cherries (if you can’t get hold of it, use ground cinnamon instead—they’ll still be delicious).
1 batch basic bun dough (here)
100g light brown sugar
2 tsp ground mahleb
seeds from ½ vanilla pod or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
50g very soft unsalted butter
80g dried sour cherries
60g chopped pistachios, plus 1 tbsp for decoration
egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of table salt)
1 batch base sugar syrup (here)
Mix the sugar with the mahleb and vanilla so it is well combined.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin on a very lightly floured workbench to a rectangle about 12 inches × 8 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 butter in a thin layer all over. Sprinkle the spiced sugar over the dough, all the way to the edges, then sprinkle the cherries and pistachios at regular intervals on top, so that each bite will contain a bit of everything.
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 12 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 12 inches. Cut into six, seven or eight even-sized slices, depending on how many buns you want.
Line a baking tin with a piece of baking parchment so that it comes up the sides in one piece, and lay the buns flat on the base, spiral facing upwards. I like to use a long thin tart tin (5 inches × 14 inches), but you can use any tin big enough to contain the buns with a little space in between them, as they will grow as they rise. This is the time to freeze the buns if you want to bake them at a later date; otherwise leave them in a warm place.
After 15–20 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F/400°F convection. Allow the buns to continue rising until they look about ready to explode (another 20 minutes or so). The dough should have expanded to fill the gaps and it should be shiny and taut. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle the remaining pistachios over the top.
Place in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the tin for an even bake and reduce the oven temperature to 400°F/375°F convection. Bake for another 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and pour over the sugar syrup. Allow to cool slightly before devouring.