Chef notes
This recipe makes two large nutty caramel bread swirls—plenty to share for the whole family. Serve them slightly warm for the best flavor along with a pot of coffee and flowers for Mother's Day!
Ingredients
- 18 ounces bread flour
- 3 ounces soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 6½ ounces whole milk
- 3 ounces butter, softened
- 10 ounces store-bought caramel
- 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons stem ginger syrup or honey
- 3 ounces whole almonds
- 3 ounces walnut pieces
- 3 ounces pecans
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- All-purpose flour, for dusting the surface when rolling
- Vegetable oil, for brushing the inside of baking tins
- 1 egg, for brushing over before baking
Preparation
For the Dough:
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, ground ginger and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Crack in one of the eggs, pour in the milk and add the softened butter. Mix the flour into the wet ingredients to form a soft dough before tipping everything onto a work surface to knead. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, use it for ease with this step. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it becomes smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 2 hours.
For the Filling:
In a bowl, combine the caramel, dark corn syrup and ginger syrup.
Chop (or blitz up in a food processor for speed and ease) the nuts into a fine crumb and place them in a second bowl.
To Assemble:
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into one large wide rectangle to the thickness of about 1/3 inch (1 centimeter).
Spread the caramel sauce filling over the dough, leaving a border of about 2 inches (5 centimeters) all the way round to avoid too much mess next as you roll.
Scatter the chopped nuts mixture and sea salt over the caramel.
Roll the dough into a long cylinder, fairly tightly and cut it into even swirl slices about 3/4-inch (2 centimeters) thick.
Brush two deep 9-inch diameter circular cake tins with vegetable oil. Place the rolls around the outside of the dish with plenty of space between them and one in the middle. Repeat with the second cake tin.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave for another hour, until they double in size and are all touching each other. You can also do this in the fridge overnight to get ahead for the morning.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. If you refrigerated them overnight, let the chilled prepared tins sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before the next step.
Brush the buns with the extra egg and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden on top. Remove the buns once cooked and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm.
