apple and cinnamon brioche buns

In this recipe, brioche dough is swirled with a delicious apple and cinnamon mixture, rather like a decadent Chelsea bun. You can also make individual apple and cinnamon buns, by cooking each bun in a tartlet tin for 10–15 minutes. The brioche dough freezes well, so you could make a whole quantity, use half for this recipe and freeze the other half for another occasion. You will need a 20–22cm round cake tin.

Ingredients: 

for the dough:

85 ml milk

20g yeast 

500g plain flour 

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

30g caster sugar

6 eggs

350g softened butter 

for the rolls: 

1/2 quantity of the brioche dough ONLY
flour, to dust
2 sweet dessert apples
1 teaspoon lemon juice
75g butter, softened, plus extra to grease
50g soft dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

FOR THE CALVADOS GLAZE:

100g icing sugar 

1-2 tablespoon apple juice or calvados 

METHOD FOR THE BRIOCHE DOUGH!!!:

1. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring to scalding point over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and cool to tepid, about 38°C. Pour the milk over the yeast in a small bowl and stir to dissolve.
2. Meanwhile, put the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the flour along with the milk and yeast mixture. Using a cutlery knife, mix to a very soft dough. Then, using a wooden spoon, beat the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10–15 minutes.
3. Turn the dough onto a work surface and, with your fingertips, work the dough by stretching it to shoulder height; it won’t stretch this far until the gluten is fully developed, so keep working it until it does.
4. Cut the butter into walnut-sized pieces. Using the same kneading-stretching technique, work the pieces of butter into the dough one at a time, only adding each when the previous piece is completely worked in. As more butter is worked in, the dough should gradually become more shiny, elastic and glossy.
5. Lift the dough into a clean bowl and cover with lightly oiled cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
6. Tip the dough out onto the surface and knock back by turning it over with your fingertips a few times. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 3–4 hours (up to 24 hours).
7. METHOD FOR THE ROLLS!!:
8. Make the brioche dough.
9. While the dough is chilling, peel, core and cut the apples into 5mm dice, then put into a bowl and coat with the lemon juice (the acidity will stop the apple from browning).
10. Place the butter in a medium bowl and beat in the sugar and cinnamon using a wooden spoon.
11. Lift the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle about 30 x 25cm, at least 5mm thick. Spread the butter mixture over the dough as evenly as possible, leaving a 5mm border around the edge.
12. Drain the apples and pat dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle the apple pieces evenly over the spiced butter. Roll up the dough rectangle lengthways as you would for a Swiss roll, trim off the ends and cut into 8 equal slices.
13. Generously grease the cake tin with butter. Arrange 7 buns, cut side up, around the edge of the tin, leaving a little space between each one to allow them to expand as they prove. Place the eighth bun in the middle.
14. Cover loosely with lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove until doubled in size. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220°C.
15. Bake in the oven for 40–50 minutes until risen and golden, and without any greyness of uncooked dough towards the center of each roll. If the brioche starts to take on too much colour before it is cooked, turn the oven down to 180°C and continue cooking on a lower shelf. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
16. For the glaze, mix the icing sugar with the Calvados to make a smooth icing and spoon over the brioche.