← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 300 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 5 g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp Salt
• 200 ml lukewarm water
• 25 g Butter, melted
• 250 g cold salted butter, in a block
• 150 g caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra for the tin

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast and salt, then add the water and melted butter and knead for 10 min until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled.
2. Meanwhile, put the cold butter between two sheets of baking paper and bash and roll it into a 15 cm square. Chill until needed; it should be cold but bendy.
3. Knock back the dough and roll it into a 30 cm square. Set the butter on it like a diamond, fold the corners of dough over to meet in the middle and pinch to seal it in.
4. Roll into a 45 x 15 cm rectangle, fold it in three like a letter, wrap and chill for 30 min. Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling once more.
5. For the third turn, scatter the worktop with a third of the sugar, roll the dough out again, sprinkle with another third, fold in three and chill for 30 min.
6. Butter a 12-hole muffin tin and sprinkle it with sugar. Roll the dough on the last of the sugar into a 40 x 30 cm rectangle and cut it into 12 squares. Fold the four corners of each square into the middle, press into the tin and leave to rise for 30 min.
7. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). Bake for 25–30 min, until deep golden and caramelised; cover loosely with foil if they darken too fast.
8. Leave for 2 min only, then lift them out onto a rack with a small knife before the caramel sets and glues them in. Careful: the sugar is very hot.

Tips

• Work fast once the sugar goes in: it draws water out of the dough and makes it sticky, so keep everything cold.
• Put a tray on the shelf below to catch drips of butter and caramel.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Food King Arthur Baking