Lightly fruited traditional Cornish saffron buns made with a mix of wholemeal and plain flour. They're easy to make, though you'll need time to infuse the saffron and prove the dough. They're particularly nice jazzed up with a few chocolate chips, but that's entirely optional.
Bring the milk to a near boil and stir in the saffron strands. Cover and leave in a warm place to infuse for a few hours. Overnight is ideal.
300 ml milk, 1 tsp saffron strands
When you're ready to start making the buns, reheat the milk so that it's tepid. Stir in the yeast and sugar and leave for ten to fifteen minutes to froth up.
50 g light muscovado sugar, 3 tsp active dried yeast
Meanwhile, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
150 g unsalted butter, 500 g flour
Stir in the yeasted milk.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is nicely elastic. Add the dried fruit and knead it in.
100 g dried fruit
Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls.
Place in a 9" (23 cm) sq silicone baking mould or greased tin. Cover with a plastic bag and leave to rise for one to three hours until doubled in size. I prefer a slow rise, so I don't put them in a particularly warm place, but a warmer place would produce a much faster rise.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) for about 20 minutes, by which time the tops should be brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Please note: calories are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.