Ingredients:

refined flour (maida) 3¼ cups

fresh yeast 10 grams

sugar 3½ tablespoons

lukewarm milk 1½ cups

of salt A pinch

butter 30 grams

tutti fruiti ½ cup

For glaze

sugar 2 tablespoons

METHOD:

1. Sieve flour. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and keep aside. Dissolve sugar and water in another bowl. Add both mixtures to the sifted flour and mix. Add milk, a little at time, till all of it is incorporated into the dough. Knead till the dough is soft and smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and rest the dough till it doubles in volume.

2. Preheat oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9.

3. Knock back* the dough and add tutti frutti.

4. Form into round buns (how many), marking a cross on the top with the back of a knife. You can also cut very thin strips of dough and arrange them on the top of the buns in a cross. Set them aside to rise for another fifteen minutes on a gresed tray.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for ten minutes.

6. Mix the sugar with a tablespoon of water and heat gently till the sugar dissolves. Brush the buns with this mixture immediately on taking them out of the oven.

Yield: 10

Note: Yeast is a living organism and if hot milk is added to dissolve it, it gets killed and no raising action can then happen. It is best to use lukewarm milk!

Note: To knock back dough you simply punch the risen dough down with the back of your hand. The rise will collapse, flattening the large spaces previously filled with the aerating gases that will escape. You can then shape the dough into whatever shape you wish to bake the bread in and let it rise again. Second time round the dough will rise quicker than the first time and will produce a well-proved dough, resulting in loaves of even texture and a sweet mature flavour.

Preparation time: 25 mins

Baking time: 10 mins