Continuing with my strawberry recipe collection, it wouldn’t be complete without some form of sticky buns! These light and fluffy sweet bread dough swirls filled with tons of strawberry jam and drizzled with strawberry glaze couldn’t be more of a treat! Strawberries are one of those berries that are so versatile and can be used in so many ways and are always just so yummy no matter what form they are in. In particular I am very fond of British Strawberries. Between the months of May and June, these berries are just divine. Even though they aren’t around for a long time, in my opinion, they are some of the best fruit you can find. It baffles me why we would eat strawberries in December as they are obviously not going to be good and most likely will have travelled so far to get to your plate. Freshly picked English strawberries warmed by the sun might just be one of the best things that we’ve ever tasted. But why? British berry farmers are going against the grain to produce slower growing, sweeter strawberries that lack the uniformity of their mass-produced European cousins. This is why I highly recommend to eat the best strawberries at the best time.

These buns are simple to make, all you need to do is make some sweet bread dough and a strawberry jam. The dough is really easy to make, it is a sweet yeasted milk enriched dough which makes it so light and fluffy which works so well with a sweet filling such as strawberries!

Now yeast can be a scary ingredient if you aren’t familiar with it. Plus there are lots of different types of yeast which makes it the more confusing! But I am going to go through each one step by step so you know which one to pick and also how you can switch them up so you don’t mess up the recipe.

• Instant Dry Yeast (also known as easy bake, fast action, easy blend or quick): This is the most commonly used yeast. It is the one where you add directly to the flour mixture and begins to work quickly.
• Active Dry Yeast: This yeast can be easily confused with the instant dry yeast. The difference is that you need to activate the yeast in a warm liquid. So before you add the yeast to the flour, you need to add the yeast to the liquid and let it sit for about 10 minutes to activate. However the measurements are the same for the instant as it is for the active.
• Fresh Yeast: This type of yeast is perishable, so it must be kept refrigerated and used within a couple of weeks of purchase. When using fresh yeast, it is dissolved into a liquid prior to adding to a recipe. Fresh yeast should be proofed, or tested for potency, before each use. To proof yeast, dissolve in warm water and add a pinch of sugar. If the yeast does not begin to foam within 5 to 10 minutes, it is no longer active. To switch a recipe from fresh yeast to dry yeast the ratio is 1g dry yeast to 3g of fresh yeast. So 5g dried yeast you will need 15g fresh yeast.
• Liquid Yeast: Liquid Yeast is purely used for sourdough. Another word for this is called a ‘starter’. It is a living yeast. All you need to do is to add fresh carbohydrate for it to survive and to continue to replicate.
• Nutritional Yeast: This yeast is NOT used for baking. This is purely to add flavour to savoury foods.

Makes 12 Strawberry Swirls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

420g Plain Flour

200g Milk

40g Sugar

5g Instant Dried Yeast

6g Salt

1 Medium Egg

50g Butter

1 egg, for the egg wash

For the Filling:

100g Strawberry Jam

For the drizzle:

100g Icing Sugar

40g Strawberry Puree

Method:

1. Firstly, the dough. In a small pan, melt the butter and add the milk. Heat until body temperature. Make sure it isn’t too hot otherwise you will kill the yeast.
2. In the bowl of a free standing mixer, place the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, eggs and warm milk and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until it has all come together. Keep the machine on a medium speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should have all come together, it should be tacky and very elastic. This is when it is ready to be proved.
3. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film or a clean tea towel. Leave for about an hour, until it has doubled in size.
4. Whilst the dough is proving, let’s make the jam. Follow the steps from the link above. I recommend to make it in advance.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a large rectangle to about 2-3mm thick. Make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the surface by continuously moving the dough and by adding more flour to the surface.
6. Spread the jam over the surface of the dough making sure it is evenly distributed but leave a slight gap around the edge so that it doesn’t ooze out!
7. Using a knife or pizza wheel, slice 6 strips cutting lengthways. Then starting from one end, roll the strips up to get a lovely swirl, tucking the ends in underneath and place on a baking tray lined with parchment.
8. Repeat this step until all have been rolled up and are on trays. (I recommend dividing them across two trays to make sure they are spread out)
9. Lightly cover with clingfilm or a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size again.
10. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
11. Once the buns are ready, brush lightly with 1 beaten egg and place in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.
12. Whilst the buns are in the oven. Mix together the icing sugar and puree together until well incorporated.
13. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Drizzle with the strawberry glaze.
14. These buns are best eaten on the day but will last in an airtight container for a couple days.