This month

Method

Dough

1. Into a small bowl, add 50g of strong white bread flour. Boil the water and pour this over the top, stirring it together to form a paste. Cover this and set aside to cool for 1 hour (or 20 minutes in the fridge)

• 50g Strong White Bread Flour
• 50g Boiling Water

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cooled Yudane (above) with the wet ingredients on top.

• 150g Whole Eggs
• 100g Whole Milk

3. Add the remaining dry ingredients on top and with the dough hook attached, knead for 8-10 minutes on a medium speed. The dough should be more cohesive in consistency, but the gluten will not have fully developed, so it will not be completely smooth.

• 420g Strong White Bread Flour
• 12g Fine Sea Salt
• 40g White Sugar
• 6g Instant Dry Yeast or 12g Fresh Yeast

4. Add the cubed butter, a few pieces at a time, waiting around 20 seconds in between each addition.

• 140g Unsalted Butter, Cubed

5. Once all the butter has been incorporated, knead for a further 1-2 minutes. By which point the dough should feel very smooth and elastic.

6. Remove the dough from the mixer and lift it onto your work surface. Shape it into a smooth ball, and lift it into a medium bowl which has been lightly oiled.

7. Place a sheet of cling film directly on the surface of the dough, and another around the bowl. Refrigerate the dough overnight. 12-16 hours.

Craquelin

1. Add all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat using the paddle attachment until it forms a smooth paste.

• 75g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
• 75g Caster/White Sugar
• 75g Ground Almonds
• 85g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
• 1g Fine Sea Salt

2. Scoop the mixture out and place it in between two large silicon mats (or pieces of parchment paper). Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to around 2-4mm thick. Place it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

3. Remove the dough from the freezer and working quickly, peel off the silicon mats/parchment paper and cut discs, using a 7cm/2.75” cookie cutter. Cut as many discs as possible and lift these onto a baking tray lined with a silicon baking mat. Place them back in the freezer until you need them. 

4. You will need to re-roll the scraps of dough and then repeat steps 2-3 to cut enough discs. You will need around 16 in total. 

Dough Continued 

1. The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 50g pieces.

2. Place the smooth side of dough down on the work surface and flatten it slightly. Fold the edges towards the centre, to create a dumpling-like shape. 

3. Flip the dough over and with your hand cupped around in it in  a ‘C’ shape, rotate the dough underneath your palm, to create tension, and a smooth ball.

4. Lift each dough ball onto a lined baking tray – you will need 2-3 trays. Depending on the size of the tray, you should be able to fit 6 per tray (or 8 if you have large baking trays) Ensure they have enough space to proof. 

5. Place the trays into the oven, switched off, and place a small pot of boiling water in the corner, changing it every 30-45 minutes.

6. The dough will take 2-3 hours to proof. It is ready when it has doubled in size. 

Raspberry Compote

1. Into a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and pectin and set aside.

• 40g Caster/White Sugar*
• 8g Pectin NH

2. Add the raspberry puree into a medium saucepan, and heat it to around 45C (or just until it is slightly warm), then tip in the sugar/pectin mixture.

• 400g Raspberry Puree

3. Whisk until the mixture comes to a boil, then remove it from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice.

• 10g Fresh Lemon Juice

4. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm, and refrigerate until needed. It will need a few hours to cool, so do this while the dough is proofing. Note – the amount of sugar will depend on the sweetness of your raspberries, so if you find the mixture is not sweet enough as it is cooking (have a little taste!), then you can add more. 

Baking & Assembly 

1. Just before the dough has finished proofing, remove the trays from the oven and preheat it to 185C/365F non-fan assisted (170C/340F fan-assisted). You may not be able to bake all the trays at once which is fine, just cover one of the trays with a tea towel while the first two trays bake. 

2. Remove the discs of craquelin from the freezer and place them into the centre of each bun. 

3. Bake them in the oven for 20 minutes. The craquelin should be an even golden brown colour on top.

4. Remove the trays from the oven and lift them straight onto a wire cooling rack, to cool for at least 30 minutes.

5. Once cooled, quickly whisk the raspberry compote together to smooth it, and place it into a piping bag with a long “cupcake filler” nozzle. 

6. Pierce a hole in the base of the bun, and pipe some compote in. Flip the buns back over and serve.