Light Lemon Fruit Buns

These buns are incredibly light, soft and tender thanks to the addition of the egg and milk in the dough. I wanted to make some buns that were more summery than the spiced buns I often make and so I decided to adapt a recipe for a standard milk loaf and create a more delicate bun. I added lemon zest for a fresh zesty overtone and the colourful apricots and cherries which looked very pretty dotted throughout the dough.

The buns are great eaten as they are, spread with lemon curd or jam and are also great toasted. I even know someone who likes to eat theirs with cheese and marmalade.

These buns are also my entry to this month’s BREAD edition of ‘Waiter There’s Something In My…’ as hosted by Andrew over at SpittoonExtra. You can check out the entry requirements here.

Light Lemon Fruit Buns
Ingredients
350g plain flour
50g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
25g fresh yeast
50g butter
200ml milk
1 egg
Zest of ½ lemon
50g sultanas
45g dried apricots
45g glace cherries

Method
Combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast and lemon zest in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add to a jug along with the milk and heat gently until warm but not to hot. (It shouldn’t get hotter than body temperature).
Whisk the egg into the milk and pour over the flour.
Using your fingers bring everything together and then kneed with a dough hook or by hand, for 5 minutes until soft and stretchy.
Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 25 minutes.
Weigh out the fruit ingredients and chop the apricots and cherries into small pieces using a pair of scissors.
Knock back the risen dough and kneed in the fruit until it is evenly distributed.
Divide the dough into nine even pieces and shape into bun shapes.
Place onto two lightly greased baking trays, loosely cover in cling film and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C.
Brush the surface of the buns with a little milk and place in the oven to bake for 12 minutes. They should be risen and golden brown on top.
Remove from the oven and turn them upside down and place back in the oven for a further 3 minutes to firm up the bases.
Transfer to a cooling wrack and allow to cool before eating or storing in an airtight container.
Makes 9 lemony buns.

Update: The complete round-up of everyones enteries can be viewed here.