Yorkshire Teacakes

 Happy Easter Everybody! 

Yorkshire Teacakes are on the list of my “favorite things” so i thought I’d let you in on the recipe, so you can enjoy them too!  These fruit-filled tea-time treats are thought to be a refinement of the original medieval Manchét or “handbread” – a hand-shaped loaf made without a pan.  Serve them split & buttered, either warm from the oven or toasted.

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/4  cups Milk (plus extra for glazing)
• 4 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 tablespoons Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Butter
• 1 teaspoon rapid-rise Yeast
• 1/4 cup Currants
• 1/3 cup Raisins

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into the bread machine pan. If the instructions for your machine specify that the yeast is to be placed in the pan first, then simply reverse the order in which you add the liquid and dry ingredients.
   
2. Sprinkle the flour over, ensuring that it covers the milk completely. Add the salt, sugar and butter, placing them in separate corners of the bread machine pan. Make a shallow indention in the center of the flour (but do not go down as far as the liquid) and add the yeast.
3. Set the bread Machine to the dough setting; use basic raisin dough setting (if available). Press Start. Add the currents and golden raisins when the machine beeps. If your machine does not have this facility, simply add the dried fruits 5 minutes before the end of the kneading period ends.
4. Lightly grease two baking sheets. When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough from the machine & place it on a lightly floured surface. Punch it down gently.
5. Divide the dough into eight or ten portions, (depending on how large you like your Yorkshire Teacakes) and shape into balls. Flatten out each ball into a disk about 1/2 inch thick.
6. Place the disks on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Cover them with oiled plastic wrap & set aside in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, or until they are almost doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees(F)
7. Bush the tops of each teacake with milk, then bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden. Place onto a wire rack to cool slightly.
8. To serve, split open while still warm & spread with butter, or let the teacakes cool, then split and toast them before adding butter. 

Cooks Tip: If you forget to add the fruit when making the dough, don’t worry. Just knead it in when you punch down the dough before shaping it.

Happy Baking & Bon Appétit!

Recipe from the book: Bread Machine: How to prepare and bake the perfect loaf by Jennie Shapter

Chelsea Buns

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!

*Picture via Google Image. Original Recipe found in the book – Bread Machine- How to prepare and bake the perfect loaf- *