confidence and competence.

i have actually been neglecting posting here to the point i have a backlog of things i've been doing to tell you about. the spurt of great weather we've had has meant i've been spending my days in the garden, tearing up weeds, planting things out, filling pots, and generally physically exhausting myself with all things green. i won't bore you with the details but while i still have tons to do, i am well on my way to an exciting vegetable garden and tons of plot to plate cooking to ramble to you all about. my days are still going to be busy, as it's not an easy garden to work with given its years of neglect, but i've been evaluating very strongly what i put my time and energies into lately, and have decided to stop slacking with how behind i've got on writing about my food, since regardless of anything else, i find it thoroughly rewarding to reflect publicly on what is otherwise a very private part of my life. it's nice to have a record of things i've made and how they interact with each other, and it's nice to get feedback and responses on what i make, that would otherwise be limited to an audience of those who see it firsthand.

what i wanted to talk to you about today was a continuation of the yeasted baking i have been doing (which seems temporarily to have taken over from my breadmaking just in time for easter, which is awesome cos i dunno how i feel about that jesus fella but i like me a good hot cross bun). what was interesting in making those chelsea buns was the surprise with which i was taken in the eating. i have to say, i think writing about the things i make (and possibly discussing them with the person i write with) has inspired me to test my established comfort zones, and i've been really surprised with the results. the more i've written about things, the more i've pushed my luck regarding these comfort zones, although always in my repetitive 'build upon the previously made item' fashion. which is exactly what i did after the chelsea buns. in the spirit of experiment i leafed through a book i must have used once a week at university: nigella lawson's how to be a domestic goddess. while at university i used it very regularly, i mostly used it for the same things; the banana bread, the carrot cupcakes, and the lemon curd and mascarpone variant of victoria sponge are the three that spring to mind as the most-made. the yeasted baking chapter at the back however, was read, but untouched. and this is where i found, and promptly made, the recipe for these distinctly nigellan* over-the-top german-american buns, the perfect next step from my chelsea buns:

*if something can be hegelian, derridean, foucauldian, then something can be nigellan. shut up.

schnecken

for the dough:

500g white bread flour

50g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

7g (1 sachet) easy-blend yeast or 15g fresh yeast (i used 10g dried yeast and will explain how within the recipe)

75g unsalted butter

150ml milk

2 large eggs

for the syrup:

125g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

4 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons golden syrup

200g walnut or pecan pieces

for the glaze:

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

for the filling:

50g caster sugar

100g demerara sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl (unless you're using dried yeast). melt the butter in the milk (here is where you add your dried yeast and let it activate if you're doing things the mitchell way) then beat in the eggs and stir into the dry ingredients to make a dough. knead for 10 minutes or 5 with a dough hook. when it's springy and satiny, form it into a ball, put into an oiled bowl, turn to coat, and cover with clingfilm. leave in a warm place for an hour until doubled in size. (notes for those who've been following my breadmaking, i obviously took the warm bowl and carrier bag route here, i try to avoid clingfilm where i can due to it's real unreusability)

start on the syrup: beat the butter until soft and smooth and add the sugar, still beating to combine. beat in the syrups and then divide this mixture between the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin. sprinkle the walnuts into the tin, too.

preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4. when the dough's ready, knock it back, knead once or twice and then roll out into a large rectangle, approximately 60 x 30cm, with the long side nearest you. beat the egg and add the milk. glaze the dough, using a pastry brush, or your fingers.

mix the filling ingredients in a little bowl and sprinkle onto the dough. now, roll up from the long side and away from you, carefully and firmly (though not too tightly), keeping a firm sausage shape.

cut into 12 even slices, and lie each slice on top of the nuts and syrup in the muffin cups. leave to prove for about 20 minutes and when they're risen and puffy, put into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, by which time they should be golden and cooked.

place a roasting tin or baking sheet on top and turn the whole thing the other way up (you will need oven gloves and a degree of caution for this.) remove the muffin tray and dislodge any nuts that are still stuck in it, adding them, along with any residual syrup, to the upturned buns. leave to cool. et voila:

now. you do not need me to tell you how good these were. nor how sticky and excessive. butter, syrup, sugar, nuts, cinnamon, eggs and milk? they were sensational. and, given my family, gone, in a flash. yet another creation that i pulled out of the oven and experienced a heart stopping moment of surprise at. i am definitely enjoying testing my boundaries when the result is gloriously sticky, soft dough such as this. the recipe makes it sound much more like a faff to do than it actually is. in reality these took no more time than the chelsea buns, but are so much more over the top and show-offy. they also, it has to be said, provided the perfect antidote for seemingly everybody around me being on a diet, as is currently the case. i don't know about anybody else, but everybody else around me being constantly in denial and talking about steaming and weighing things and how many 'sins they're allowed a day? it makes me want to glory in excess. and glory i did, getting in a right mess in the process.

i shan't let it be so long before i post again, no matter how exhausted i am from lugging sackfuls of dirt and digging, as i still have so much more to talk to you about; including more preserving, finally getting my mitts on some rhubarb, and another dalliance with mr. yotam ottolenghi.