Recipe of the week 29th Jan - Spiced Apple Buns

Ever since I splashed out on a Magimix at christmas, I have been busy using every attachment it comes with. I still can't wait for the day I buy at KitchenAid mixer (space and money, alas!) but the dough attachment on my Magimix worked perfectly well for these buns. I have tried hand kneading many times before, but find my strength and kneading technique severely lacking! This recipe came from a Waitrose magazine and it really is divine. I especially like the inclusion of golden marzipan which melts and keeps the finished dough wonderfully moist.

Makes 10 buns

350g strong bread flour
7g instant dried yeast
40g golden caster sugar
1 large egg
100g butter
200g golden marzipan (refrigerate it first to ensure it grates well)
2 eating apples, peeled and chopped
75g raisins
1 tsp ground mixed spice
Splash of milk

Greased and lined 23cm cake tin.

Method
1. Place the flour, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg.
2. Melt the butter and add to a jug, bring the volume up to 175ml using warm water.
3. Stir to bring the dough together.
4. Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes or using the dough hook on your mixer.
5. Place the kneaded dough into a bowl, cover with oiled cling film (or an oiled hotel shower cap) and leave to rise in a warm place for two hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Punch the dough a couple of times to deflate and then tip onto a floured surface.
7. Roll the dough into a 50x15 cm rectangle.
8. Scatter the marzipan, apples, raisins and mixed spice.
9. Roll the dough up into a long sausage and slice into 10 even sized pieces (a piece of dental floss apparently works well for slicing perfectly).
10. Place the pieces, cut sides up, into the tin and cover and leave to rise again for an hour.
11. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
12. Brush the buns with milk and bake for 30 minutes until a deep golden brown colour. Cover towards the end of the baking time if the buns are browning too quickly.

image: buns pre-bake