Saffron buns
Ingredients
300 ml whole milk
0.5 g saffron
80 g unsalted butter
500 g strong white bread flour (I used @cotswoldflour French Patisserie Flour)
100 g golden caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
14 g fresh yeast (or 7 g sachet fast-action yeast)
1 free-range egg, beaten
Veg oil, for greasing
1 egg (for egg wash)
Method
Warm milk in small saucepan until it starts to bubble around the edge.
Using a pestle and mortar, grind the saffron to a powder and add to the hot milk, along with the butter, then set aside. When lukewarm, add the fresh yeast and mix until dissolved.
Mix the flour, caster sugar and salt together (then mix in the dried yeast, if not using fresh) in bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the warm milk and mix (using dough hook) on low speed until it forms a sticky dough. Turn to medium and continue kneading for 5-7 mins. It will be sticky!
Turn out into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, fold the dough from top to bottom, side to side, and bottom to top. Flip over and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured worktop and divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each into a ball, cover with the tea towel, and leave to rest for 10 mins.
Roll each ball into a circle, a little larger than a dinner plate. Layer them on top of each other on top of baking tray lined with baking parchment. Place a ramekin in the centre of the circle of dough, then make cuts at the top, bottom, opposite sides, continuing until you have 16 sections. Take two sections, twist outwards 3 times, then pinch ends together. Repeat for other sections. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 200 C/180 C fan/gas 6.
When ready to cook, wash with beaten egg and sprinkle sunflower and poppy seeds over the centre. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 mins until golden brown.
Optional extras
Add ground-up seeds from 4 cardamom pods to the dough
Add sultanas between the layers of dough
