Ingredients - makes 12
| 1lb (450g) plain flour | 2oz (50g) butter |
| ½ teaspoon salt | 4fl oz (125ml) warm milk |
| ½ tablespoon caster sugar | 1 egg (plus some beaten egg for glazing) |
| 2fl oz (50ml) warm water | 8oz (225g) currants |
| ½oz (15g) fresh or ½ teaspoon dried yeast |
Method
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
- Cream the yeast and sugar together and mix with the water.
- Leave to stand for 20 mins until frothy.
- Melt the fat in a pan with the milk and beat in the egg.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour and salt and mix in the currants.
- Mix to a smooth dough and knead well on a floured board.
- Cover and leave to rise until double in size (usually about 30 mins in a warm place).
- Knock back and knead again.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into a small oval shape.
- Place on a greased baking tray and cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 mins in a warm place.
- Heat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.
- Brush with beaten egg and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Is there anyone else out there who finds that ‘cooling on a wire rack’ always leads to a decrease in the number of items baked. I am sure that 12 went on the cooling rack; and yet only 11 when I went back into the kitchen? My Official Taster tells me that things decrease on cooling. I didn’t do physics at school so I can’t argue!
