Homemade Belgian Buns Recipe
A traditional artisan bake offering a delicate, buttery crumb and golden exterior, served fresh with clotted cream, preserves, or rich salted butter.
Ingredients
- • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- • 75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
- • 4 tbsp lemon juice
- • 1 tsp lemon zest
- • 1 large egg
- • 475g strong white flour (3 2/3 cups)
- • 7g dried instant yeast
- • 60g caster sugar (1/3 cup)
- • ¼ tsp salt
- • 40g/3 tbsp unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
- • 100ml whole milk (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
- • 100ml water (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
- • 1 large egg (beaten)
- • 150g sultanas (1 cup)
- • 275g icing sugar (2 cups)
- • 2-3 tbsp water
- • 12 glace cherry halves
Preparation Steps
Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with a few cm of water in the bottom. Bring the water to a simmer and ensure the bowl isn’t touching the water.
Put the lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter in the bowl and stir until the butter has melted.
Whisk the egg in a separate jug or bowl, then very gradually pour this into the bowl with the lemon mixture, whisking constantly as you pour to prevent the egg from curdling.
Let the mixture cook for about another 10 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently.
Leave to cool whilst you prepare the buns. You can also make this in advance and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Heat the milk in the microwave until warm but not hot – about 40 seconds. It should be a comfortable temperature to hold your finger in the milk.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour in the warm milk, followed by the melted butter and beaten egg.
Stir until everything comes together into a dough. It should be soft, slightly sticky but easy to handle. If it feels a little too sticky, add extra flour 1 tbsp at a time. If it feels too dry, add more warm milk 1 tbsp at a time.
Gather the dough into a ball with your hands and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a few minutes until soft and elastic.
Place the dough into a large lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in a warm place (approx. 25 degrees C) to prove for about 1 hour or until roughly doubled in size.
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. You want to create a rectangle shape roughly 30x40cm in size.
Spread 6 tbsp of the lemon curd you prepared earlier all over the dough.
Sprinkle over the sultanas.
Starting from the shorter edges, tightly roll up the dough into a sausage shape.
Slice into 12 pieces and place them onto the prepared baking trays, leaving enough space between each for them to expand.
Cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place (approx. 25 degrees C) for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan or 370F/330F fan.
If desired, you can lightly brush the tops of the buns with egg or milk for a shiny, golden finish.
Bake the buns for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 170C/150C fan or 330F/300 fan and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
Leave the buns to cool for at least an hour before adding the topping.
Mix the icing sugar with 2-3 tbsp of water until you have a thick but spreadable icing.
Spoon the icing on top of each bun, or dip each bun into the icing.
Top with a glace cherry half.