This tasty side dish comes up quickly and pairs nicely with any meat dish, but it pairs especially well with pig.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 55 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 dozen buns |
Ingredients
- 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ cup warm water
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ¾ cup white sugar, divided
- 3 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of warm water in a small bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
- Sift together the flour and salt. Cut in 3/4 cup butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Bring the milk to a boil; remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Cool until the milk is lukewarm, no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Pour the milk and yeast mixture into the flour. Add the eggs and mix well to form a soft, sticky dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Roll the dough into a square on a floured surface. Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the raisins. Roll up the dough to form a log, pinching the seam to seal.
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Cut the log into slices about 1 1/2 inches thick. Place the slices in the prepared pan and let them rise for 30 minutes. Beat the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water to form an egg wash. Brush the buns with egg wash.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the buns are golden brown and the centers are set, about 25 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 493 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 73 g |
| Cholesterol | 101 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 335 mg |
| Sugars | 23 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Authentic English ‘Chelsea buns’ contain ‘cinnamon and mixed spice’ with ‘brown’ not white sugar. Otherwise, dough is very good. I tweaked this recipe as it should be and was very good.
I can’t speak to the authenticity of Chelsea Buns, but I do know that these were wonderful! They are just barely sweet, with a lovely soft and buttery interior. The only change I made to the recipe was to use brown sugar in the filling instead of granulated. I could see where adding spices to the filling, and a glaze to the top after baking, would both be delicious additions. I would definitely make these again! Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve never had a Chelsea bun before, but compared to a “sticky” bun, these were airy, buttery, and lightly sweet. I followed buddyglb’s advice and swapped out the white sugar for (dark) brown sugar and the raisins for currants. I don’t particularly like raisins, so the currants were great! I did make the mistake of rolling the dough up width-wise rather than length-wise, so the buns were quite large. I took them to a brunch today and got great reviews! I would make this recipe again!
The dough recipe is really nice and works well – but as an English woman I know that true Chelsea Buns call for mixed spices and brown sugar in the filling as well as raisins or currants, once I had adapted the filling these turned out really well.
This is the best dough recipe I have found …. Simple and light, great for sweet or savory recipes . I have use it for both … I love it. Thanks for sharing.
I now do my batter and dough in my bread machine. After I have rolled out the dough I place each bun in the pan. The next step is my variation: I heat the oven at 350º for 2 minutes and stop. Then I place a pan of water inside the oven. Then the pan goes into the warm oven and I let it sit for half an hour until it has risen. Then out comes the pan of water and I start baking. The water in the pan makes your bread come out so soft and silky!
Wow!! this was my reaction when my Chelsea buns were ready. Absolutely delicious, light and beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!!
WoW! Great recipe! I made these this morning and was really pleased with how the dough turned out — will probably try this recipe with my other sweet yeast baking. Used buddyglb’s topping and Monica’s advice to double the topping. My family loved these!
A1 exactly what I was looking for !!
This is a terrific recipe. Simple to follow and much easier to make than I first thought! I used buddyglb’s adjustments and my chelsea buns turned out looking absolutely fabulous! I now make them on a steady basis, (weekly), as many customers really enjoy them. Buddy, my husband remembers the chelseas from Gravenhurst Bakery, and says that mine are just as good! I use glacee cherries and cashews on the top, and double up on the topping recipe. This makes them nice and gooey!
This is an interesting variation on the original Chelsea Bun recipie. The original itself is also a variation on the old Bath Bun recipies of long ago Chelsea England. In Gravenherst, Ontariao, near the Muskoga region, the Gravenherst Bakery is known for its authentic Chelsea, which is made in the form of a loaf, actually several sliced rolls laid together closely in a pan. The big difference is the use of currants vs raisons and 3/4 cup brown sugar, divided,instead of the white sugar called for here and topping prepared in the pan before laying in the slices. The topping is made with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbs water, 2 Tbs butter all melter together and boiled for two minutes; pour in pan bottom, scatter with pecan halves and merischino cherry slices, then place slices of Chelsea and let raise to double in size again before baking. Flip over on sheet of aluminum foil when done. Also, authentic Chelsea is folded and rolled out into a rectagle twice, adding filling each time, before final roll up and slicing. The Gravenherst Barkery is gone now, but used to supply its Chelsea to the RMS Seguine which sailed tourists up Lake Ontario through he “Millionair’s Row” of lakeside property. Try these modifications, you will love it!
As a new variation, I like to substitute pie cherries and white chocolate chips in place of the raisins. It makes for a great dessert bread that isn’t too sweet. I’m glad you all liked the recipe.