fruited tea buns

By Late2Serenity

Specialty Cheri raisins and jumbo raisins are a good choice, but feel free to substitute golden and regular raisins, or the dried fruits of your choice.

Ingredients

• starter
• 4 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 4 ounces cool water
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• dough
• all of the starter
• 6 ounces milk
• 1 large egg
• 13 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 ounces soft butter
• 7/8 ounce sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor or vanilla extract or 1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
• filling
• 4 1/2 ounces chopped dried apricots
• 2 ounces dried cranberries
• 2 1/2 ounces jumbo raisins
• 2 1/2 ounces Cheri raisins
• topping
• 1 3/4 ounces sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon water

Details

Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

The night before, make the starter. Combine the flour, water, and yeast, stirring till cohesive. Cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight. The mixture will become bubbly.

1) Combine the starter with the dough ingredients, mixing and kneading to form a smooth, supple dough. Or prepare dough using a bread machine set on the dough cycle.

2) Knead in the fruits.

3) Form the dough into a ball, and place it in a greased bowl.

4) Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours; it should puff significantly, but may not double.

5) Gently deflate the dough. Divide it into twelve 3 1/4-ounce balls.

6) Place balls into individual paper pans or into a greased 9" x 13" pan.

7) Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

8) Stir together topping ingredients until liquid, then drizzle over the dough.

9) Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes for the individual breads, or 40 to 45 minutes for the pan, until golden brown.

10) Remove from the oven. If baked in a 9" x 13" pan, transfer buns from the pan to a rack to cool.