Jam Buns Recipes

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until it is body temperature (you can also use the microwave for this). Transfer the warm milk to a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Let the mixture sit until the yeast is dissolved and looks cloudy (almost like miso soup), about 5 minutes. A few bubbles on the surface is also a good sign that your yeast is ready.
• Crack one of the eggs into a small bowl and beat with a fork. Add the beaten egg to the milk-yeast mixture, along with the flour, granulated sugar, salt, and butter. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. (If after a minute or two of mixing it doesn't pull away from the bowl, add a little more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it does. On the other hand, if the dough seems far too dry and impossible to mix, add a little more milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it becomes a little more forgiving. This is the nuanced part of baking where all the tiny variables-how humid the air is, how you measured your flour, etc.-all come into play. Don't worry too much and trust your instincts.)Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a large ball and knead it by pressing it with the heel of your hand and pushing it away from you, then immediately pulling it back, folding the top of the dough back on itself. Kneading is all about this push-and-pull. Turn the dough clockwise a little bit each time you push and pull it so that it gets evenly worked, and knead it until its surface is completely smooth and the whole thing feels both solid and soft at the same time, not unlike a baby's bottom (probably my favorite line in this book). It will take a solid 5 minutes of kneading.Put the dough back in the large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in the warmest spot in your kitchen until it's soft and puffy and just about doubled in volume, about 1 hour.Return the dough to the lightly floured work surface and use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a large ovalish rectangle measuring roughly 18 in [46 cm] long and 12 in [30.5 cm] wide. If the dough resists while you are rolling it, simply let it rest until it yields to the rolling pin; dough responds well to patience. Spread the surface of the dough evenly with the raspberry jam, leaving a ½-in [12-mm] border. Starting from a long side, roll the dough up tightly so you end up with an 18-in [46-cm] rope. Cut the rope into a dozen even slices (I like to cut it in half and then cut each half in half, and so forth, so that it's easy to get even pieces). The ends might not have much jam-you can still add them to the bunch to make a baker's dozen.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the buns, spiraled-jam-side up, on the prepared baking sheet in relatively even rows. The buns should be touching each other but not shoving each other and the seams on the rolls should be facing inward in the "huddle" so that they don't unravel in the oven. Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until they've risen a bit and are soft and puffy, about 1 hour. Or, so you can prepare them the night ahead, let them rise at room temperature for just 30 minutes, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, pull them out and let return to room temperature, about 1 hour, before proceeding.Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F [180°C].Crack the remaining egg into a small bowl and whisk it with 1 Tbsp water. Uncover the buns and brush them with the egg mixture (I use my hands for this so I get to be very gentle, achieve even coverage, and don't have to wash a brush afterward). Discard whatever egg mixture is left over (or save for another use such as a tiny omelet).Bake the buns until they're beautifully browned and the exposed jam is caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes.While the buns are in the oven (ha!), in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, crème fraîche, and vanilla.Drizzle the hot buns (yeow!) with the crème fraîche mixture-this should be a wonderfully messy moment. Serve immediately (an even more wonderfully messy moment). These buns are best served warm out of the oven rather than at room temperature.

Steps:

• Heat the milk until steaming. Add the butter and swirl until melted. Leave to cool slightly. Tip the flour and yeast into a bowl or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, then add the caster sugar and ½ tsp salt.
• When the milk mix has cooled slightly (it should feel just warm when you stick a finger in) pour into the flour mix. If using a stand mixer, mix for 5-8 mins on a medium speed until springy. Or, knead in the bowl for about 10 mins - when the dough is pulled apart, it should be able to stretch without ripping.
• Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1½ hrs or until doubled in size. Or, transfer to the fridge to slowly rise for up to 24 hrs (this will improve the texture and flavour).
• If the dough is chilled, remove from the fridge 1 hr before shaping. Divide into 10 equal portions (weigh them out if you want to be accurate). To make round buns, roll and shape each piece into a smooth ball, or to make finger buns, roll and shape each piece into a finger shape. Arrange on a lined baking tray, leaving space between each. Cover loosely and leave to rise for 30 mins-1 hr more until doubled.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Brush the buns with milk and bake for 25-30 mins until golden. Put on a wire rack and leave to cool.
• Mix the icing sugar with 2-3 tbsp water - it should be thick. Divide between bowls, depending on how many food colourings you're using (we used three). Dye each with a different colouring, adding a splash more water if needed.
• Whisk the cream and 1 tbsp icing sugar until just holding its shape. Don't overwhip, as it will thicken as you pipe (see tip, below). Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle and fill with a third of the cream.
• Split the round buns in half as you would a burger bun, or the finger buns down the middle lengthways. Spoon roughly 60g lemon curd or jam over the bottom half of each bun (or down the middle), alternating the flavours, then pipe over a swirl of cream. Continue until all the buns are filled, refilling the piping bag with cream as needed. Spoon some icing over each bun, matching the colours to the jam (we used yellow for the curd, pink for the raspberry jam and purple for the blackcurrant). Decorate with the glacé cherries, sprinkles and crystallised petals, if you like, then leave to set for about 20 mins before serving. Best eaten the day they're made, but will keep in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Steps:

• pre-heat oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 5
• seive flour, Rub in margarine until it resembles breadcrumbs, add sugar
• add the milk to the mixture, little by little until it is a soft but not too wet dough.
• place the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until completely smooth
• Roll out dough to about 0.75 cms thick, cut into round ( 12cms in diameter, a glass can be used for this)
• place a teaspoon of jam on to each one.
• Damp edges of dough and fold them inwards to cover the jam. Put buns onto a greased tray, joined side down, they do spread to twice the size so leave plenty of room between each one,
• Bake in a fairly hot oven for 15 - 20 mins
• cool on wire rack
• enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° or at mark 6. Grease a large ovenproof baking dish.
• To make the suet pastry, mix the flour and suet together in a bowl, and mix in just sufficient cold water to make a firm (but not sticky) dough.
• Roll out the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface to form a strip 8 to 10 inches long. Spread a good layer of jam (warmed, if necessary) over the pastry to within 1/2 to 1 inch of the edges. Moisten the edges of the pastry, roll up carefully from a long side. Pinch the top edge to form a seal. Seal the two ends well too, to prevent jam filling from spilling out during baking.
• Place the jam roll in the baking dish and bake at 400° for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve hot or cold. To serve, cut in slices, and serve with custard.
• Alternatively, the mixture can be rolled up in a floured pudding cloth and steamed for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to make Jam Roly Poly.

Steps:

• Combine dry ingredients.
• Use pastry cutter to cut in butter until butter is in pea size pieces.
• In a separate bowl, combine eggs,milk and vanilla.
• Beat lightly.
• Add to dry ingredients and mix until it's a soft dough.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured board and cut into 8 squares.
• Place heaping teaspoon of jam in the centre of each square.
• Fold the square to make a triangle.
• Press sides together to seal jam inside.
• Place triangle in muffin cups with the long folded side down, leaving 3 points facing up.
• Bake 375 for 25 minutes.
• Careful the jam will be very hot.