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| Marlborough bun |
When we moved to Higham Ferrers in 2010 it was more luck
than judgement that we found it had a huge Waitrose store not more than ½ a
mile away. Since then, needless to say, we have visited on many an occasion and
have taken to partaking of a free coffee (a Waitrose cardholder scheme) and
sometimes – when we are feeling the need – accompanying it with a rather tasty Marlborough
bun.
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| Kneading fruits into sweet dough |
Sweet bun dough, enriched with good things like milk, butter,
fruit and sugar, has for centuries been made at celebratory times but buns, as
a whole, I believe are diminishing in favour and more refined treats like
cupcakes and muffins appear now to be more popular. What a pity – I think there
should be a Great British Bun Revival!
I have always thought that traditional English buns - like
the Chelsea, Bath, or Hot cross - are second to none and now, thanks to
Waitrose, the ‘Marlborough’ has joined their ranks but can I find it elsewhere or, better still,
can I make it myself?
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| Second rise before baking |
Now,
where to find a recipe? I have scoured the internet and, although the
Marlborough bun does get a mention now and again, I can’t for the life of me
find too much on the subject. Even books by baking high priests Dan Lepard and
Paul Hollywood also drew a blank and so a little experimentation was called for
and I have started with a recipe found on the BBC food website for ‘Dried fruit
and almond buns’.
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| Hot buns |
The buns turned out to be just about acceptable but were
nothing like the mysterious Marlborough and so I must now tinker with the
recipe, visit Waitrose when the need arises, and my research will undoubtedly
continue. Watch this space!
I have just discovered these buns at Waitrose today and am looking for a recipe - did you ever find one or perfect the recipe above?
ReplyDeleteThe best Marlborough buns are indeed from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer also bake a version. Sadly, despite numerous efforts, I have yet to perfect a similar 'crumb' but as a definitive Marlborough bun recipe appears to be somewhat of an enigma, who know what it really should be like? If you find out, do tell!
ReplyDeleteIt's a secret that only Mrs Teresa May Knows Good luck
ReplyDeleteI started with a Selkirk Bannock recipe, added a bit more sugar, orange and lemon peel, black & golden raisins, dried cranberries (here in Mexico mo mixed fruit or currants), flaked almonds and a tiny bit of vanilla extract. Pretty close!
ReplyDelete