150ml/⅔ cup milk
100g/7tbsp unsalted butter
50g/¼ cup golden caster/superfine sugar
15g/3tsp fresh yeast (or 5g/1½tsp easy-action yeast)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
175g/1 cup plain/all-purpose flour
150g/1⅓ cups strong white bread flour
A pinch of salt
60g/¼ cup plum jam/jelly
1tbsp icing/confectioner’s sugar
Though these are undoubtedly best eaten the day they are baked, I wanted to include them in this chapter. They’re what the girls in the first of the Chalet School books feast upon on Sunday mornings, with big mugs of milky coffee. They are to be packed at the top of your tuck box, ready to be brought out as soon as the train pulls away from the station.
Serves 8
1. Put the milk and 75g/5tbsp of the butter into a saucepan, and warm over a low heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat, and leave to cool until lukewarm. Whisk in the sugar, then the yeast. Add the egg and egg yolk.
2. Put the flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Tip in the liquid mixture, and bring together into a dough using a wooden spoon. Knead for 10 minutes until it is smooth, and bounces back when you prod it. The dough should be sticky, but do add a little flour to help your kneading if needed.
3. Wash out the mixing bowl, then grease it with a little butter and place the dough back in. Cover and leave to proof for an hour, until doubled in size.
4. Weigh the dough, and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each (not too thinly in the centre, or the dough might split), place a teaspoon of plum jam into the centre, and pull the edges up. Pinch them together, then flip the ball and roll it on the work surface. Place each roll in a greased oven dish, giving them a little space to swell. Allow to proof for around 40 minutes – long enough to let the rolls join up. They should bounce back when prodded gently.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/400F/gas 6. Melt the rest of the butter, brush it over the rolls, and bake for 20–25 minutes, until risen and golden. Dust with icing sugar, and serve with honey, and sweet, milky coffee.