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Cinnamon, honey and banana buns

Frank Bordoni from Great Food Live
Frank Bordoni unravels the classic Chelsea bun, adding a sweetly spiced banana filling and sticky honey topping to a healthy granary dough

Cinnamon, honey and banana buns

Method

1. For the dough: mix flours and salt together in large bowl, then stir in the sugar and dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the warmed milk, beaten egg and oil. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, adding just enough water to form a dough.

2. Knead on a lightly floured work surface, then return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in volume.

3. Meanwhile, lightly butter a 20cm square baking tin.

4. When the dough has risen, knock it back and knead briefly again on the floured work surface. Set aside half the dough to cook as a loaf of granary bread.

5. Take the other half of the dough and roll it into a rectangle measuring 30cm x 25cm. Brush it with melted butter and leave to rest while you prepare the filling.

6. Thinly slice the bananas into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and the sultanas or raisins. Scatter the fruit mixture over the dough, leaving a border of a finger width border around the edge.

7. Working from the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough towards you, tucking in any banana that falls out. Press the ends to seal.

8. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 9 pieces and place them cut-side up in the prepared tin so that they are just touching each other. Cover the buns loosely with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7. In a small pan, warm the honey gently to help it become more liquid. Brush half of the honey over the buns, then bake them for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown.

10. Remove the buns from the oven and allow them to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the buns with the remaining honey, then pull apart to serve.

Cook's Notes
You only need half the bread dough to make these buns but it's not worth making a smaller quantity. All you have to do to cook the remainder is shape it into a loaf (you could put it in a greased loaf tin or on a greased baking sheet), brush the top with oil, and leave it in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or so. Bake at 220C/gas 7 for 20-25 minutes until well risen and brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on it's base.

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Serves: 9

Prep: 20 min, plus rising time
Cook: 25 min

Ingredients

For the dough

225g strong white flour
225g malted granary flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp caster sugar
7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
150ml Milk, warmed
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp Olive oil, plus extra for greasing
100-150ml warm water