Makes 9
Ingredients
- 500g (1lb 2oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 75g (2½oz) caster sugar or vanilla sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
- 10g (¼oz) salt
- 200ml (7fl oz) warm milk
- 100g (3½oz) butter, melted, plus 50g (1¾oz) very soft butter for brushing and extra for greasing
- 1 egg
- 1 jar coarse-cut Seville orange marmalade
For the fruit filling
- 8 dried figs, roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 orange
Method
First, make the fruit filling. Place the figs in a bowl, pour over the orange juice and set aside while you make the dough.
Grease a 20 x 25cm (8 x 10in) baking tray or dish. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt, then add the milk, melted butter and egg and mix to a sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Wipe the bowl clean, return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave the dough to rise until doubled in size. This might take from 2–4 hours depending on how warm it is.
When the dough is ready, carefully tip it out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it out to a rectangle of about 45 x 30cm (17½ x 12in), with one of the long sides facing towards you. Brush the surface of the dough with the soft butter. Spoon out all but a couple of tablespoons of marmalade over the top of the butter, then sprinkle over the soaked, chopped figs. Leave a margin of 2.5cm (1in) along the edge farthest away from you.
Take hold of the edge closest to you and carefully roll up the dough, enveloping the marmalade and figs in a spiral as you go. Everything’s quite soft at this point so you’ll need to be quite careful.
Trim the ends of the roll, then cut along the length so that you have 9 equal pieces. Arrange these snugly, cut-side down, in the greased baking tray or dish. Cover the dish or place it inside a clean plastic bag and leave it in a warm place for 1–2 hours, or until risen.
Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Once the buns are risen, bake them for about 25–30 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and, while they’re hot, brush the buns all over with the remaining marmalade. Let cool before breaking apart and serving.
