Delicious UK - (11)November 2020

48 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

Ham,spinachand

hazelnutbuns

MAKES12.HANDS-ONTIME35-40MIN,

OVENTIME25-30MIN,PLUS 15 MIN

STANDING,COOLINGANDUP TO 5 HOURS

RISING AND PROVING

MAKE

AHEAD

Maketherecipetotheend

ofstep7 butinsteadof

proving,coverandchill

overnight.Takeoutearlyinthe

morning,leavefor1½hoursto

cometoroomtemperatureand

prove,thenbakeasintherecipe.

FOOD

TEAM’S

TIPS

Freshspinachtendsto

comein200gbags,which

worksfine,butif you’re

buyingit loose,gofor250g.Leftover

bunscanbewrappedindividually

andfrozen,thenthawedand

warmedina lowoven – they’re

great with soups.

• 250mlwholemilk,tepid


• 2 tspactivedriedyeast


• 25gsoftlightbrownsugar


• 400gstrongwhitebreadflour,
  plusextrafordusting


• 100gryeflour


• 10gfineseasalt


• 100gbutter,melted


• 1 mediumfree-range egg, lightly
  beaten


• Oilforgreasing,plusa littlebutter
  or lard, melted, for brushing

FORTHEFILLING

• 200-250gspinach leaves (see tips)


• 1 tbspoliveoil


• Knobofbutter


• 1 onion,sliced


• 2 garliccloves,thinlysliced


• 150-200ggoodqualitysmoked
  ham,roughlychopped


• 100gblanched hazelnuts, roughly
  chopped
  
  
  • 75gmaturecheddar,grated
  
  
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  
  
  
  

YOU’LLALSONEED...

• 35x 25cmbakingtray/dish
  greasedwithbutter– youcanuse
  anoval/rounddishofa similar
  size,aslongastheuncookedbuns
  fit in with a little space in between

1 Forthedough,whiskthewarm

milk,yeastandsugartogether.Leave

for 15 minutesorsotofrothup.

2 Combinethefloursandsaltin

a largebowl.Addthefrothyyeast

mixture,meltedbutterandbeaten

egg,thenmixtoa roughdough.

Turnoutontoa flouredsurfaceand

kneadforaround 10 minutesuntil

smoothandyielding.It’sa slightly

stickydough,soyoumaywantto

flouryourhands– thatsaid,trynot

toaddanymoreflourthanyouhave

to.(Youcankneadina standmixer

fittedwitha doughhook,butI findit

moresatisfyingtousemyhands.)

3 Putthedoughina clean,lightly

oiledbowl,coverwitha damptea

towelandleaveina warmplace

untildoubledinsize.Thismaytake

aslongas4 hoursbecausethe

doughissorich– it certainlywon’t

risesufficientlyinlessthananhour.

4 Meanwhile,makethefilling.

Washthespinachandputina large

pan(withnomorethanthewater

clingingtoitsleaves),coverandput

overa mediumheatfor3-4minutes

oruntiltheleavesarewiltedand

tender.Transfertoa sieveover

a bowlorjugandleavetocool.Use

thebackofa spoontosqueezeout

theexcessliquidfromthe spinach,

thenroughlychopit.

5 Whilethespinachiscooling,heat

the olive oil and butter in a large

fryingpanovera mediumheat.Add

theonionandcookfor 10 minutes,

tossingoccasionally,untilit begins

tosoftenandtakeona littlecolour.

Addthegarlic,followedbytheham

andcookedspinach,thencookfor

a further2-3minutes.Seasonwell

withsaltandpepper,removefrom

theheatandallowtocool.

6 Carefullyscrapetherisendough

outontoa wellflouredsurfaceand

rollouttoa rectangleabout45cmx

30cm,withonelongsidetowards

you.Brusha littlemeltedbutter

orlardoverthedough,leaving

a 2-3cmmarginatthelongedge

furthestfromyou.Spoonthecooled

hamandspinachmixoverthedough,

spreadingit asevenlyasyoucan.

Scatteroverthehazelnutpieces.

7 Rollupthedough,startingatthe

longedgeclosesttoyou.Takeyour

timeasthiscanbetricky– theroll

needstobetight.Tidyuptheends

bytrimmingthemoffwitha sharp

knife,thencuttherollinto 12 equal

pieces.Turneachpieceonitsside

andarrangeinthepreparedtray/

dish.Youneeda gapbetweeneach

onesotheyhaveroomtoexpandas

theyprove– they’lljointogetheras

theybake.Scatteroverthecheese

andthyme.Carefullycoverthetray

witha dampteatoweltostopthe

bunsdryingout,thenleavetoprove

ina warmplacefor 45 minutesto

1 hour(orseeMakeAhead).

8 Heattheovento200°C/180°Cfan/

gas6.Bakethebunsfor25-30

minutesuntilgolden.Allowthe

bunstocoolslightlybefore

removingfromthetin.Servewarm.

PERBUN362kcals,18.3gfat(7.6g

saturated),11.8gprotein,35.8g

carbs(4.6gsugars), 1.5g salt,

3.6g fibre

Ah,thejoyofa warm,savourybunona chillyweekendmorning.I shapeand

baketheseasI wouldclassicChelseabuns.Rich,crunchyandcheesy,they’re

perfecttear-and-sharefood.Anda bonus:youcangeteverythingpreppedthe

day before, then bake the buns on the morning you want to eat them. GILL MELLER

BRUNCH CLASSIC

PORTRAIT: ANDREW MONTGOMERY. RECIPE FROM PIGS & PORK: RIVER COTTAGE HANDBOOK NO.14 (BLOOMSBURY)

The n ew