Salted caramel and apple rolls

Happy Easter!

In some good news I find out if I have a new job on Tuesday/Wednesday. I'm praying so much that I'll get it as I'm not sure I can take any more at my current job. I don't know how everyone there deals with it, I just hate getting ranted at and shouted at, and that has been on the increase over the last couple of months. 

So, today I decided that it was time to chill out and do some baking. I made a lovely cake on Friday too and it didn't curdle! Happy happy days. It tastes yummy, and Hannah and I decorated it to look pretty. I also have two birthday cakes to do this week (1 of which I get paid for - always helpful!). 

I've been intending to make these for a while, and I even bought the Granny Smiths, and they were starting to go so I decided it was now or never. I had to go buy some cream and was slightly shocked at how many people were at the little Sainsbury's around the corner - the only shop that seemed to be open today.

This recipe is from BBC's Great British Bake Off. (I'm so excited they're doing a new series!)

FILLING:

7 oz caster sugar

1 tbsp water

7 fl oz whipping cream (I used double as I couldn't find any whipping)

3 Granny Smiths - peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes

DOUGH:

8 1/2 fl oz full fat milk

1 oz butter

1 lb strong white flour

1 tsp salt

1x7g sachet fast-action dried yeast

1. Filling - heat sugar and water in large saucepan on medium heat until sugar melts and forms a caramel (do not stir the caramel)

2 Meanwhile, gently warm cream in a saucepan. Carefully add one third to the caramel (stir it or you'll end up with lumps!) and once the bubbling has subsided, whisk in the remaining cream. Pour the mixture into a bowl and set aside until completely cooled

3. For dough, warm milk and butter in a saucepan until butter has melted and milk is luke warm

4. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add yeast

5. Stir in milk mixture until contents come together as a dough

6. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 mins or until elastic and smooth

7. Lightly oil a bowl with veg oil. Place dough into the bowl and turn until covered in oil. Cover bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size

8. Lightly grease 2 baking trays and line with greaseproof paper

9. Knock dough back to its original size and turn out onto a flour surface. Roll out dough to a large rectangle (Mine was about 50cmx 20-25cm)

10. Drizzle half the caramel over the dough and then scatter with chopped apples. Roll into a tight cylinder (I had problems cutting the end ones as my dough wasn't entirely square) and cut 12, 4cm slices (I only managed 11!)

11. Place the rolls, cut side facing upwards onto the baking trays. Cover with tea towl and set aside to rise for 30 mins. (You can see the end ones didn't roll well, and after rising for 30 mins the only difference seemed to be that more of them were falling apart.... but I decided to shove them in the oven anyway!)

Before:

After:

12. Preheat oven to 200C

13. Bake in oven for 25-35 mins or until risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool and drizzle with remaining caramel. (I set the timer for 25 mins - should have put them on 180C and checked earlier - rooky error)

But the bottoms still look yummy! The dough is quite nice (I wasn't sure what to expect), I'm curious as to what they taste like when cooked correctly and so might have to give them another go!)

The caramel was interesting, it smelled slightly burnt, but it had only just gone the colour that I thought it was supposed to go. It tastes fine, so I'm assuming it's ok. I also forgot to warm the cream, with the result that I had to strain it as I ended up with a few caramelised lumps in the sauce. I tried to make another batch, but took it off the heat earlier so it never got thick enough, so I think I was right the first time around (I now have 1/2 a pint of nice, but runny caramel sauce…. no idea what I'm going to do with it!). It also took a surprisingly long time for the sugar to melt and form a caramel. I did end up stirring it towards the end as I wasn't sure what else to do.

I also had a bit of an issue with rolling it up, and some of them came slightly unrolled (as you can see). Maybe next time I'd dampen the edges, as the caramel doesn't seem to help them stick together. I might also try to get it wider, although the dough was very thin already.  

This is also the first time that I've made any dough for a while, and it was nice to have a good kneading session. I'm thinking that I may make some bread soon, just for kicks. That and it's a part of baking that I've not really experimented with yet. 

I also successfully reorganised my kitchen - something that happens on a regular basis as I have more kitchen stuff than can ever be fitted into my kitchen! I could do with a side board in my bedroom to take some of the pans etc! 

This time I remembered to take some photos, next time I'll remember to start taking photos earlier! However, as you can see from the final photos I overcooked them - always listen to your nose…

So, there is a semi-successful creation of salted caramel and apple buns. Here's to a better week, and the prospect of a new and altogether less traumatic job...