Spiced fruity Rooibos malted rye buns

This takes fruity buns to the next level!

Ingredients:

• 215g plain flour

• 210g Malted Cotswold Rye flour

• 3 Rooibos tea bags

• 200ml hot water

• 90ml whole milk, lukewarm

• 1.5 tsp instant yeast

• 55g soft light brown sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp mixed spice

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100g mixed fruit (sultanas, currants, peel..)

• 40g chopped stem ginger

• 50g chopped dried apricots

• ~40g sourdough starter (peak or discard)

• 30g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1 medium egg, beaten

For the glaze:

• 2TBSP apricot jam

• 2tsp water

• 1.5 TBSP whisky syrup (optional and can be replaced by golden/maple syrup)

Method:

Add the rooibos tea bags and the 200ml hot water to a mug/measuring jug and allow to steep for 5-10mins until a deep red colour. Leave to cool to 25-30°C.

Remove the tea bags and measure out 100ml of the tea into a small bowl or measuring jug. Add the milk to the tea and stir. Add the sourdough starter to this mixture and mix until well-combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, spices, salt, and yeast. Give a quick stir until combined. Add the milky tea/sourdough mixture, cooled melted butter, beaten egg and all the fruit and ginger to the bowl.

Mix gently on a low speed using a dough hook for a few minutes until all the ingredients are combined. Then increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough becomes smooth and elastic (around 5-7mins) and starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.

The amount of fruit in the dough may make this hard to see so it might help to stop the mixer and have a feel of the dough. If the dough is very sticky you can add some extra flour but don’t add too much extra – the dough should be slightly sticky and adding too much flour will result in a dense, tough bun.

You can knead this dough by hand on a lightly floured surface, it will just take longer to achieve the same result.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a showercap/linen bowl cover/damp towel and leave in a warm place to rise until about doubled in size. This can take around 1-1.5hrs depending on room temperature.

Lightly brush the bottom of a rectangular dish with melted butter OR line it with a sheet of baking paper cut to size. Try leave two ‘tags’ on the sides as this will help get the buns out after baking. The dish I use is ~25cm long by ~15cm wide and ~8cm deep.

Once the dough has finished its first rise, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll into a sausage shape. Using a knife or dough scraper, divide into 6 approximately equal pieces.

To shape the buns, take one of the pieces of dough and flatten it slightly, then gather all the ends into the centre and roll on a clean dry surface to get a nice round shape with tension on the top.

Place the buns into the dish in a 2x3 configuration.

Cover the dish with a piece of lightly oiled plastic wrap or a proofing bag and leave in a warm place so that the buns rise by about 75%, not quite double.

The buns should rise by ~75%.

Preheat your oven to 190C (180C fan) and once the buns have finished proving, put them in the oven to bake until the tops are a deep golden brown. This should take between 30-35mins depending on your oven and the type of dish you are baking them in.

A metal dish will heat up faster than a ceramic dish and therefore might bake faster. If you have a probe thermometer, the inside temperature of the buns should be 92C when they are done.

While the buns are baking, prepare the glaze. Add all the ingredients to a microwave-proof bowl and place in the microwave for 45s until warm. Stir until well-combined.

Once the buns are baked, remove them from the oven and, using a pastry brush, glaze generously while still in the dish.

Allow to cool slightly for about 5mins and then remove from the dish using the baking paper tags or an egg lifter/spatula.

Place on a cooling rack to cool slightly.

Enjoy warm with lots of butter!

As with most homemade goodies, these don’t last as long as something you’d buy at the shop. If after a day or two you find they’ve gone slightly stale, don’t worry! They’re as good sliced in half, lightly toasted with loads of butter!