Saffron buns

I am sure there are very many recipes for these iconic buns which are enjoyed in many places.  In the UK it is Cornwall that claims it as one of their favourite regional delicacies, and I have recently found out that something very similar is enjoyed in the Scandinavian countries too.  I've never made or tasted them before.

To be sure, with saffron, sugar, eggs, and fats, these are a rich treat to be enjoyed occasionally.  When there were a couple of comments on Facebook about this recipe, I thought I would give it a try.  It is not yet scheduled in our regular bakes so I shall probably be making some more at a later date.

If I hear that there may be a difficulty with a recipe, it does put me a little of guard...a nervousness can creep in, and sometimes it is this lack of confidence, a certain trepidation that can effect the outcome.  Yeast dough is not always straight forward, it can be tricky, the yeast is a living thing...is affected by so much: heat, sugar, salt, fats etc...

I have looked at other recipes and maybe the one I am using does have quite a bit more sugar than others...and a lot of sugar in dough can delay the growth of yeast or even inhibit it.  I wanted to make sure the yeast had a good start, so soaked it in the saffron infused milk with only part of the sugar suggested for the flavoured milk.  I had some saffron given to me by my fried Marie Claire and it was just waiting for a special bake!

The yeast infusion did start to froth pretty well.  However in the interests of testing the recipe, I added all the sugar once I thought the yeast was growing well.

Once the yeast and milk had laid in its flour nest for the prescribed time, all the other ingredients except for the butter was added, the dough brought together,

and then the kneading commenced...yes it is a sticky dough...but that is good, rather like a brioche dough, after ten minutes the butter was added, and another ten minutes kneading and using a scapper from time to time and the dough was ready for its first thirty minute rise..without the fruit.

The well drained fruit was then added and after two hours there was a rather good rise.

There are twelve buns of about 60g dough and they were set to rise on parchment lined tins..., with large plastic bags to cover them.

I felt that they needed much more that the 45 minutes resting, but it was cool, and I do not have a proving drawer...

I think they had about one and a half hours, then brushed with milk they went into the oven.  After a little changing over shelves...they needed a further five minutes but I reduced the temperature to Gas Mark 5 to avoid any scorching.

Hubby has just returned from work...so I am going down to make tea and settle down to a buttered bun!  Update...they are delicious, and not too much sugar, about 1.5tsp per bun, but my Safgold yeast would have been better than the standard dried yeast. By the way Safgold yeast works perfectly well with less sweet doughs too.   Hubby had his just like that, I had mine split with a little butter.

In a Vase on Monday - Three corned vase

A very small contribution...a very small crystal vase triangular in shape, just right for three flowers.  I had never thought of picking crocuses until I had seen them used in previous weeks in Cathy's vases. So I have really having been inspired by Cathy's three pretty vases and the theme of three.

I moved them to the conservatory where the warmth of the sunshine helped them open fully.

Last Wednesday I saw some bees in the garden for the first time this year, and I hope they were able to have a little top of pollen...for I fear that over the last couple of days and into this week, it will be far too cold for any bees to be out!

In a Vase on Monday - Windfalls prop up daffodils

We are having high winds and lots of rain...the daffodils do well with lots of rain...and raining down from the trees are twigs and branches.  We were looking for pooh sticks yesterday at The Vyne when I found a lovely one covered in lichen.  Gradually as we arrived back at the car, I had a small handful.  A twig of pussy willow and catkins adds to the spring arrangement.  Seeing the wild Lords and Ladies: Arum maculatum, starting to pierce the leaf litter along the walks gave me the idea of using a few leaves of Arum Italicum pictum growing in the boarder close to the gazebo.

These are the first of my daffodils to flower this year.

They are The Tenby Daffodil: Narcissus obvallaris.  This lovely little golden daffodil is the emblem of Wales.

The flowers are quite small about 5cm across so my little vase about 10cm high was just the right one...I tried others but this worked the best.  When I was at school I spent one of my first holidays in Wales at an Easter Camp, and was enchanted by the swathes of daffodils growing in the woodland just above Tenby.

Cathy has come up with a lovely arrangement which will no doubt sew new ideas for vases for the weeks to come.  Like me, do go over and see what she has come up with, and have a peep at what other people have put in their vases this week.

Tlalchigual buns

Its lovely to read Jane Mason's experience of coming across Tlalchigual buns near Lake Chapala in Mexico, and how lucky for us to find this recipe in her Book of Buns.  When Mr S and I are travelling around one of our favourite things is to try local food, and often it is the small outlets or sole vendors that come up with delicious morsels.

This is the early February Facebook Group challenge.  For these buns you make a starter dough and a sugar solution on the day before you want to bake.  To be authentic you would need to use a cone of piloncillo from Mexico, which is made by boiling down and shaping cane syrup...I can just imagine the lovely flavour.  Where I grew up in Mauritius one of the perks of knowing someone who worked at a sugar refinery was being offered a bottle of 'Sirop Canne'..a dark brown reduction that tasted not too sweet but full of other complex flavours.  I would love to be able to try this in baking!  However having neither piloncillo or Sirop Canne, I used Billington's dark brown muscavodo sugar from Mauritius and a teaspoon of molasses.

I followed the instruction for the day of baking, by starting the yeast in a little of the syrup...once before I had used my dried yeast with a molasses solution, but had had difficulty, and once again it did not look right...maybe the natural minerals and salts in the  molasses overwhelms the yeast, so instead I first got the dried yeast going in a little plain water, with a tablespoon of the sweet solution.  It worked beautifully.

I used wholemeal flour from our local water mill at Charlecote, hazel nuts and candied citron and lemon peel, as well as some cherries.

Most Mondays I have a little friend who comes to taste my buns and he loves singing his song about buns with cherries on the top..so he'll need to sing one about buns with cherries in them, when he has one of these on his next visit!  Here is my friend Penny reading to my bun taster in chief.

Here is the dough ready to be portioned, with nuts and fruits all throughout the dough.

The buns rose beautifully and filled the house with a wonderful aroma as they cooked in the oven....they are now cooling ready for Friday bun day.

In a Vase on Monday - A posy in an ink bottle full of scent

Normally February brings rain to thaw the frozen pond again..but the first day of February is warm and blowy but dry, and I don't think that our pond has frozen over once this season.  Cathy's post this week features spring flowers and springs! And if you visit there, you'll also have the benefit and linking to others who join in with this posting.

I could have picked the first of my Tenby daffodils, which I planted back in 2008 which had started in flower last week.  I'll leave them for passers by to enjoy for another week or so.

My contribution is picked from the back garden.  Making up this very little posy are 'wild' primroses, aconites, single snowdrops and Pulmonaria Sissinghurst.

My little vase is an ink bottle I bought a few years ago when visiting an enactment at a Castle in Wales, they had bits and pieces to do with calligraphy, and I also bought a nice journal covered with leather, and the recipe for making ink with oak galls!  I haven't got round to making the ink yet.

I wasn't quite sure where to place it as it is so small, and was moving it round to the house to find the best light to picture it in...since I think the little bottle could double up as a scent bottle, here it is on my dressing table.