Flor’s lardy buns

Method

Stage 1: Making the dough

• 1. Start by preparing the poolish: stir the flour and water with the yeast in a medium bowl. Mix well, cover with a lid and set aside, at room temperature, to ferment for at least 4 hours. It should be bubbly and doubled in volume (see Make Ahead).
  2. To make the dough, mix 225g fermented poolish with the water, milk, fresh yeast and 40g soft butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Tip all the dry ingredients on top, then mix on a low speed until the dough starts to come together – about 2 minutes.
  3. Increase the speed to medium- high and work for at least 8-10 minutes until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl and looks smoother and elastic. Turn off the mixer and rest the dough for 3 minutes, then resume mixing on a medium speed for a further 3 minutes.
  4. Tip out the dough onto a clean work surface and shape into a ball. Put the dough into a large oiled container with a tight-fitting lid and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, then chill for 2 hours or until at least doubled in size.

Stage 2: The lamination

• 1. While the dough is chilling, prepare the 500g butter for lamination. Roll it between 2 sheets of compostable baking paper to a rectangle about 16cm x 20cm and 1cm thick. Chill for 1 hour, then remove 30 minutes prior to lamination (it needs to be malleable but not soft – ideally between 14°C and 18°C).
  2. Once the dough has had time to chill, roll it on a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle roughly 35cm x 20cm, with the longer side nearest you. Remove the butter from the baking paper and, with the short side nearest you, lay it across the centre of the dough to cover it, leaving 10cm dough on each side. Fold the sides of the dough over the butter so it’s now completely covered and the edges of the dough meet in the middle. Gently press down on the dough and pinch the edges to encase the butter, then roll the dough in the direction of the central seam. The aim is to lengthen the dough parcel (it will also get a little bit wider). Keep the pressure even so the butter rolls with the dough and doesn’t crack or ooze out at the seams. Stop rolling once the rectangle reaches roughly 45cm x 20cm – aim for as even a thickness as possible. Trim the short ends a little to neaten up the corners if needed.
  3. With the short end of the dough in front of you, fold the top third of the dough downwards and then fold over again (in half) to cover the bottom third, as if folding a letter. Return the dough to the container with the lid, then chill for 20-30 minutes, but no longer. If it gets too cold the butter may crack when rolled.
  4. Repeat the same rolling and folding process twice more, each time beginning with the spine of the ‘letter’ on the left, so the parcel is rotated 90 degrees each time you do a fold. Return the dough to the fridge for 20-30 minutes after each roll and fold.
  5. Once the third and final fold is complete, leave the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour (see Make Ahead). At this point there’s no danger of the butter cracking when you roll it because the layers are so thin.

Stage 3: The fillings

• 1. While the dough rests, prepare the fillings. Put the dried currants in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot tea to cover and leave for at least 30 minutes so the currants swell and soak up the liquid (see Make Ahead).
  2. For the mace lard, beat the lard with the sugar, mace and salt until smooth and well combined.
  3. To make the mace caramel, combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar doesn’t burn at the bottom, until melted. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil for 2-3 minutes (no stirring) until the caramel lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside (see Make Ahead).

Stage 4: The assembly & baking

• 1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled parcel of dough to about 16cm x 60cm x 8mm thick. Put the longest side of the dough sheet closest to you. Working quickly, spread the mace lard over the surface as evenly as possible. Drain the tea-soaked currants and sprinkle evenly over the dough. Starting at the edge closest to you, gently roll up the dough into a long thin sausage. Press down slightly once finished to help seal the edge (see Make Ahead). Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the sausage into cross-sections at 3-4cm intervals.
  2. Fill the prepared muffin tray holes with pieces of dough (cut-side-up). Press gently into the holes without disturbing the layers too much. Cover the tin with a clean, slightly damp tea towel or re-useable proving bag and leave the buns in a warm place for 2-2 1⁄2 hours or until almost doubled in size.
  3. Heat the oven to 200°C fan/ gas 7. Glaze the buns by brushing with a little beaten egg, then put the muffin tin on a large, lipped baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until the buns are a deep golden colour. Warm the caramel.
  4. As soon as the buns are out of the oven, carefully tip them out of the muffin tin onto a tray, then one-by-one dip them into the warm caramel to coat the bottoms (you’ll have caramel left over). Arrange the buns, caramel- coated side facing up, on the tray and cool a little before eating.