HOME BREAD MAKING INSTRUCTIONS:
SWEET BUNS & FRUIT LOAVES
Equipment:
A bun tray or a loaf pan; a sturdy spoon; a spatula and a plastic mixing bowl (plastic helps keep the dough warm).
Ingredients:
FG Roberts Cottage Bread Mix, some yeast, white vinegar, oil, and hand hot water.
Plus some sugar or glucose, your favourite dried diced fruit, cinnamon and mixed spice, and for Easter crosses... some pipe-able white cross mix.
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For a small fruit loaf of approx. 500gm finished weight:
For 12 medium size fruit buns or a large fruit loaf of approx. 950gm finished weight:
... As easy as mix, shape, rise, bake.See the Video.
1. Mix ( a 500g water and mix combination, including fruit, will make approx. 1 small loaf or 6 medium size sweet buns)
Measure out the required amount of F.G.Roberts Cottage Loaf Mix into your plastic bowl.
Add the fruit, cinnamon, spice and sugar to the dry mix and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
Into a separate jug according to your chosen recipe size, dissolved yeast into the correct amount of amount of warm water.
Add white vinegar and oil.
Tip the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix with your sturdy spoon till you form a soft moist dough. Your dough should be quite thick, though still soft and stretchy. Add a little more liquid if it appears too dry or the ingredients will not combine well.
If you want a larger batch and the mix is too much to stir by hand (which for me is anything more than 2-300grams of mix at a time), use your electric mixer with a dough hook or put it all into a home bread machine to get it to do the mixing part only. This should take about 10-15 minutes (not counting initial warming time if your machine does that as well). Then remove it and continue below...
2. Shape
Tip the soft and damp (but it should not be sticky) dough onto a lightly floured board (timber boards are warmer) and shape it to make a silky smooth ball. Shaping is where you work around the dough shape lifting the rough edges into the centre and gently squashing them down. Repeat the process while slowly rotating the dough.
For a loaf, simply place the dough - smooth side up, into a lightly oiled loaf pan.
For buns, divide the dough into required bun size portions.
Mould each piece into a smooth rounded shape.
Lightly oil the bun tray and place the buns next to each other almost touching. When they proof, they will push against each other and the side of the tray and then rise up.
3. Rise
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave aside in a warm spot to rise. Rising usually takes 50-60 minutes depending on warmth, and yeast quality, and dough thickness.
4. Add Crosses (at Easter time of course)
When it has more than doubled its size, for Easter Buns, pipe some piping mixture across each row and down its length to form crosses. Alternatively, slash crosses into the surface of the risen buns. Place into your pre-heated oven to bake.
5. Bake
... In pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes.Cover the top of the buns with foil after 15 minutes if they are already brown by this stage to prevent burning.
Suggested temps = gas/electric/fan-forced all around 210-215deg. Celcius.
You’ll have to experiment with your oven so your buns bake nicely in the centre but don't burn.
During the first 10-15 minutes of baking, your dough will rise another 10-20% (‘oven-spring’). Allow for this extra height in your oven!
6. Remove & Cool
...from the oven after baking onto a cooling rack, and for a
sweet glossy surface for
your buns, brush on some sugar or glucose dissolved in some boiling
water.
Alternatively, simply brush some honey onto your hot buns.
Allow to cool on a rack before eating.
Extra Tips:
For better keeping, pre-soak the dried fruit in water for an hour or two before draining and using in the mix. This prevents the dried fruit drawing moisture from around it and helps keep the buns fresher.
Added Crust Browning: Brushing milk or oil onto the risen dough just before baking will encourage more golden browning of the bun and loaf tops.
Equipment:
A bun tray or a loaf pan; a sturdy spoon; a spatula and a plastic mixing bowl (plastic helps keep the dough warm).
Ingredients:
FG Roberts Cottage Bread Mix, some yeast, white vinegar, oil, and hand hot water.
Plus some sugar or glucose, your favourite dried diced fruit, cinnamon and mixed spice, and for Easter crosses... some pipe-able white cross mix.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...Remember...
The
three keys
to successful yeast baking are always.....
1. a top grade
active yeast
(beware old yeast in cupboards
and 'Out-of-date' shop bought ones)
2. accurate measuring
(digital scales for flour
& liquids are highly recommended)
3. warmth
(keep everything warm
throughout the process as a cold dough can take forever to rise)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a small fruit loaf of approx. 500gm finished weight:
200g FG Roberts Cottage Loaf Mix
70g approx.dried chopped fruit (about 1/2 cup... or more to suit taste)
1t/sp. cinnamon
1t/sp. mixed spice
1tab/sp. sugar (or more to suit taste)
3g dry active yeast (about 3/4 t/sp)
2-3ml oil (about 3/4 t/sp)
2-3ml white vinegar (about 3/4 t/sp)
245ml warm water (or a little more if dough is too stiff)
70g approx.dried chopped fruit (about 1/2 cup... or more to suit taste)
1t/sp. cinnamon
1t/sp. mixed spice
1tab/sp. sugar (or more to suit taste)
3g dry active yeast (about 3/4 t/sp)
2-3ml oil (about 3/4 t/sp)
2-3ml white vinegar (about 3/4 t/sp)
245ml warm water (or a little more if dough is too stiff)
For 12 medium size fruit buns or a large fruit loaf of approx. 950gm finished weight:
400g FG Roberts Cottage Loaf Mix
140g approx.dried chopped fruit (approx.1 cup... or more to suit taste)
1-2t/sp. cinnamon
1-2t/sp. mixed spice
1tab/sp. sugar (or more to suit taste)
8g dry active yeast (about 2 t/sp)
8ml oil (about 2 t/sp)
8ml white vinegar (about 2 t/sp)
490ml warm water (or a little more if dough is too stiff)
140g approx.dried chopped fruit (approx.1 cup... or more to suit taste)
1-2t/sp. cinnamon
1-2t/sp. mixed spice
1tab/sp. sugar (or more to suit taste)
8g dry active yeast (about 2 t/sp)
8ml oil (about 2 t/sp)
8ml white vinegar (about 2 t/sp)
490ml warm water (or a little more if dough is too stiff)
... As easy as mix, shape, rise, bake.See the Video.
1. Mix ( a 500g water and mix combination, including fruit, will make approx. 1 small loaf or 6 medium size sweet buns)
Measure out the required amount of F.G.Roberts Cottage Loaf Mix into your plastic bowl.
Add the fruit, cinnamon, spice and sugar to the dry mix and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
Into a separate jug according to your chosen recipe size, dissolved yeast into the correct amount of amount of warm water.
Add white vinegar and oil.
Tip the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix with your sturdy spoon till you form a soft moist dough. Your dough should be quite thick, though still soft and stretchy. Add a little more liquid if it appears too dry or the ingredients will not combine well.
If you want a larger batch and the mix is too much to stir by hand (which for me is anything more than 2-300grams of mix at a time), use your electric mixer with a dough hook or put it all into a home bread machine to get it to do the mixing part only. This should take about 10-15 minutes (not counting initial warming time if your machine does that as well). Then remove it and continue below...
2. Shape
Tip the soft and damp (but it should not be sticky) dough onto a lightly floured board (timber boards are warmer) and shape it to make a silky smooth ball. Shaping is where you work around the dough shape lifting the rough edges into the centre and gently squashing them down. Repeat the process while slowly rotating the dough.
For a loaf, simply place the dough - smooth side up, into a lightly oiled loaf pan.
For buns, divide the dough into required bun size portions.
Mould each piece into a smooth rounded shape.
Lightly oil the bun tray and place the buns next to each other almost touching. When they proof, they will push against each other and the side of the tray and then rise up.
3. Rise
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave aside in a warm spot to rise. Rising usually takes 50-60 minutes depending on warmth, and yeast quality, and dough thickness.
4. Add Crosses (at Easter time of course)
When it has more than doubled its size, for Easter Buns, pipe some piping mixture across each row and down its length to form crosses. Alternatively, slash crosses into the surface of the risen buns. Place into your pre-heated oven to bake.
5. Bake
... In pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes.Cover the top of the buns with foil after 15 minutes if they are already brown by this stage to prevent burning.
Suggested temps = gas/electric/fan-forced all around 210-215deg. Celcius.
You’ll have to experiment with your oven so your buns bake nicely in the centre but don't burn.
During the first 10-15 minutes of baking, your dough will rise another 10-20% (‘oven-spring’). Allow for this extra height in your oven!
6. Remove & Cool
...from the oven after baking onto a cooling rack, and for a
sweet glossy surface for
your buns, brush on some sugar or glucose dissolved in some boiling
water.Alternatively, simply brush some honey onto your hot buns.
Allow to cool on a rack before eating.
Extra Tips:
For better keeping, pre-soak the dried fruit in water for an hour or two before draining and using in the mix. This prevents the dried fruit drawing moisture from around it and helps keep the buns fresher.
Added Crust Browning: Brushing milk or oil onto the risen dough just before baking will encourage more golden browning of the bun and loaf tops.