How to Make Gooey Chelsea Buns with Caramel Layers

[Crispin]

Hi,

I'm trying to make a Chelsea bun that is as close as possible to the ones sold in the local bakery where I grew up. Unfortunately it's a 2.5 hour drive away now so although I try to stock up now & again it would be a lot easier if I could make my own!

The major difference with my buns is that they are dry between the layers, despite using lots of sugar & butter. The ones from the bakery have a kind of stickyness in between the rolled layers, like a thin layer of
caramely goo, making the buns extra moist.

I'm not sure how to do this, as the butter/sugar mix for the filling in all chelsea recipes just dries out when cooked. On my next attempt, I was planning to make a goo with something like syrup, butter & sugar and cover the dough in this before rolling up but I suspect it might just dry out again so I thought I'd ask the question on here, in case anyone can save me time and money experimenting to get these just how I like 'em!

Thanks

 

[ChesterV]

Are you using real butter or fake butter? What kind of sugar are you using?

If you are using real butter and real granulated sugar, then your buns are not getting hot enough inside to get the butter and sugar to caramelize together inside the bread.

You may possibly have to turn the heat down a tad, and bake them a little longer so the inside of the buns can get as hot as the outside without burning them.

I would call the bakery you like, and tell them you have tried to make the buns at home but the butter and sugar is not caramelizing inside and see if they can give you some advice.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum @Crispin

Which recipe are you using?

 

[Crispin]

Are you using real butter or fake butter? What kind of sugar are you using?

If you are using real butter and real granulated sugar, then your buns are not getting hot enough inside to get the butter and sugar to caramelize together inside the bread.

You may possibly have to turn the heat down a tad, and bake them a little longer so the inside of the buns can get as hot as the outside without burning them.

Real butter & soft brown sugar. Thanks for the tip, think I will try caramelizing & spreading over the dough before cooking though.

 

[Crispin]

Welcome to the forum @Crispin

Which recipe are you using?

All recipes are basically the same - butter & brown sugar spread on the dough

 

[Crispin]

Thanks for the welcome BTW!

 

[ChesterV]

Real butter & soft brown sugar. Thanks for the tip, think I will try caramelizing & spreading over the dough before cooking though.

OH, BROWN sugar. Ok, yeah, sometimes that goes grainy and does not melt.
I've had that happen to me. Never could figure out why. Tried different heat settings and everything, nothing worked....still came out like sand inside. Never figured that one out, so I just stopped using brown sugar.

I think that will work better also, if you make your caramel first, then spread it out. Let us know!

 

[Becky]

All recipes are basically the same - butter & brown sugar spread on the dough

But it's useful to know the quantities involved, the process you're using etc - it's really useful to know these things, as different recipes yield different results.

It may also be that you are using too much butter, and it is melting away rather than staying put. Do you brush on melted butter and then sprinkle sugar over it?

 

[Crispin]

I've used different quantities of butter & brown sugar in my experiments, it never makes a difference. Could be anything from 30-50g butter, 50-100g sugar.

I have spread soft butter on one occasion and I have brushed on melted butter on another. Same result. I have sprinkled on the sugar.

I know from testing this that it's nothing to do with the butter and sugar, it's something else. Something keeping the dough wet. I think maybe brushing a layer of water or milk on before the butter & sugar might do it. I will test that next time.

But if anyone has any other ideas let me know!

Thanks

 

[Becky]

Ah ok, fair enough. What is your dough recipe?

 

[Crispin]

Ah ok, fair enough. What is your dough recipe?

They are all basically the same recipes. Here is an example of one:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chelsea_buns_01576

 

[Becky]

That recipe looks like it would be quite dry to me. Try using less flour - eg around 425-450g. In my opinion a dough for cinnamon buns should be very soft - so much so that it is difficult to knead at first. I would also use plain flour instead of strong flour, that's how they do it in Scandinavian countries. I think if you improve the dough by making it lighter and more moist then the filling will stay more moist too

 

[Crispin]

OK I will give it a go with less flour and use plain also. The dough is pretty sticky and wet already though, to the point where I can't knead it by hand, I have to use a mixer.

Thanks for the tip, I'll let you know if it works!

 

[Becky]

OK I will give it a go with less flour and use plain also. The dough is pretty sticky and wet already though, to the point where I can't knead it by hand, I have to use a mixer.

Thanks for the tip, I'll let you know if it works!

Hope it goes well!