The Chelsea bun was first created in the eighteenth century at the Bun House in Chelsea, an establishment favored by Hanoverian royalty and demolished in 1839. The bun is made of a rich yeast dough flavored with lemon peel, cinnamon or a sweet spice mixture. Prior to being rolled into a square spiral shape the dough is spread with a mixture of currants, brown sugar and butter. A sweet glaze covering is added before the rolled-up dough is sliced into individual buns and baked. The process of making this bun is very similar to that involved in producing the cinnamon roll. (Source: Wiki)
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 Egg
- 4-1/2 cups Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 6 tablespoons Sugar
- 1/4 cup Butter, Softened
- 1 teaspoon rapid-rise dry Yeast
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoons Butter, melted
- 2/3 cups golden Raisins
- 3 tablespoons Orange Peel, finely chopped or shredded
- 2 tablespoons Currants
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Cloves
For the Glaze:
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 4 tablespoons Water
- 1 teaspoon Orange juice (or any flavor really)
Directions: Starting with the milk, add together the ingredients to make the dough. -Personally i use a bread machine to kneed the dough, but if you don’t have one, just kneed the dough until it is elastic-like and smooth. – Once the dough is done, Place on a floured surface and roll out into a square, keeping the dough thick enough so that it won’t tare. Next, brush the dough with the melted butter, and then sprinkle on top of it the filling ingredients. -Leave a 1/2 inch space along the edges free from the filling, so that it won’t leak-out when you roll it. – When the dough is covered with the filling, roll it into a log, and then slice it 1 inch thick with a sharp knife or if you know how – do the cinnamon-flavored-floss cross-over slice. (I’ll post a tutorial on the in the future!)
Ok, so now that the dough is sliced and placed into a greased pan, cover and let it rise for an hour. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 400 degree’s. Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes, or until they have risen well and are evenly golden all over. Once they are baked, let them cool slightly in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool further. – if you don’t want to take them out of the pan you can just let them cool until they are not so hot that the glaze will run off. – To make the glaze just mix the sugar and water in a small saucepan on low heat. Stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then add the rest of the ingredients, boil the mixture rapidly for 1-2 minutes without stirring, until mixture is syrupy.
Happy Baking And Bon Appètit!
Sweet 16's Country Kitchen 