Currant buns
Prep: 45 minutes
Wait: 2 hours (plus overnight soak)
Bake: 16 minutes
Makes: 15 buns
About 3 tablespoons softened butter (salted or un) for pan, bowl , and bun top
1/4 cup dried currants, soaked overnight in rum, orange juice, or both to cover
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 whole large egg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, ground ginger
About 3½ cups all-purpose flour
Glaze, recipe follows
1. Prep: Butter a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Drain currants; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Test: Pour the warm water into a small bowl; stir in the yeast and a pinch of the sugar. Let rest until creamy, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix: In a large bowl, mix together the drained currants, milk, egg, remaining sugar, melted butter, salt, and spices. Stir in yeast mixture. Stir in enough flour to form a sticky dough—about 3 1/4 cups.
4. Knead: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed, to form a soft, smooth dough, about 3 minutes.
5. Rest: Brush a large bowl with softened butter. Settle in dough ball, turning it to coat with butter. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Let rest until dough has doubled, about 1½ hours. Slide a hand under the dough and gently lift the edges, letting it deflate.
6. Shape: Cut dough into 15 portions (scale for uniformity). Shape each into a ball, pulling the top smooth and tucking any raggedly bits under. Line up 3 rows of 5 balls in pan. Heat oven to 400F.
7. Rest: Cover buns with a kitchen towel. Let rest until puffy, about 30 minutes. Brush tops with softened butter. Meanwhile, make glaze (recipe below).
8. Bake: Bake until buns reach 190 degrees inside and turn golden brown outside, about 16 minutes. Brush with glaze, twice. Nice warm.
Glaze: In a small saucepan set over high heat, bring 1/4 cup milk and 6 tablespoons sugar to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Stir in ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract and a pinch of ground nutmeg.