Baking Traditional Suffolk Buns for Afternoon Tea

A Suffolk Kitchen Worth Waking Up For

There is a particular kind of comfort that settles over a rural Suffolk cottage on a slow Saturday morning. The kettle rattles, the Rayburn ticks as it warms the room, and outside the window a grey heron might be picking its way along the edge of a dyke. It is a landscape of wide skies, hedgerows and flint-walled churches, and it invites you to stay indoors, flour on your hands, doing something simple and good.

Baking traditional Suffolk buns is exactly that sort of activity. They are not fancy, not difficult, and they fill the kitchen with the smell of spice and warm fruit. Best of all, they are ready in time for afternoon tea, when the light is softening and the day has earned a pause.

What Exactly Is a Suffolk Bun?

A Suffolk bun sits somewhere between a teacake and a Chelsea bun, but it is far less fussy than either. It is a soft, yeast-raised bun, lightly sweetened and spiced, studded with currants, sultanas and a little candied peel. Some old recipes add a pinch of saffron, steeped in warm milk, which gives the crumb a gentle golden hue and a subtle, earthy note.

Unlike a Chelsea bun, you do not roll and coil the dough. You simply shape it into generous rounds, prove them, and bake until they are risen and fragrant. They are humble, but that is their charm. Served warm, split and buttered, they are one of the great simple pleasures of an East Anglian afternoon.

Ingredients for a Proper Batch

This makes twelve good-sized buns. Use a mix of dried fruit rather than just one kind, and do not be tempted to skip the mixed peel — it adds a citrus lift that keeps the buns from tasting flat.

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 7g dried yeast (or 15g fresh yeast)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g currants
• 50g sultanas
• 50g mixed candied peel, finely chopped
• 300ml warm whole milk
• 50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Optional: a pinch of saffron threads, steeped in the warm milk
• For the glaze: 2 tbsp milk and 1 tbsp caster sugar

Making the Dough: Slow and Steady

Warm the milk until it feels just comfortable on your wrist — no hotter, or you will kill the yeast. If using saffron, add it now and let it steep for ten minutes. Stir in the yeast and a teaspoon of the caster sugar, then leave for ten minutes until a frothy cap forms.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, remaining sugar and spices. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture, the melted butter and the beaten egg. Bring together with a wooden spoon, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should spring back when you press it gently.

Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and leave to prove in a warm spot for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size. In a cool cottage, the airing cupboard or the shelf above a radiator works well.

Knock back the dough, then knead in the currants, sultanas and peel. If the fruit sticks, dust it with a little flour first. Divide into twelve equal pieces and shape each into a neat round. Place them, well spaced, on a lined baking tray. Cover and prove again for forty-five minutes.

Proving, Baking, and the All-Important Glaze

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, gas mark 5). The buns are ready to bake when they look puffed and feel light. Bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes, turning the tray halfway through, until they are risen and a deep golden brown. They should sound hollow when tapped on the base.

While they bake, warm the glaze ingredients gently until the sugar dissolves. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush them generously with the glaze. This gives them a lovely soft shine and keeps the crust from hardening. Leave them on the tray for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They are best eaten slightly warm, but not straight from the oven — give them a few minutes to settle.

Afternoon Tea, Suffolk Style

To serve, split a bun and spread it with good salted butter. If you are feeling indulgent, a thin layer of raspberry jam is not out of place. A pot of strong English tea is the traditional accompaniment, though a glass of cold milk works just as well for younger guests.

These buns are at their best on the day they are made, but they keep for two days in an airtight tin. To revive them, warm them briefly in a low oven or split and toast them under the grill. They also freeze beautifully — wrap them individually and defrost as needed, then refresh in the oven for five minutes.

There is something deeply satisfying about a plate of warm Suffolk buns on a cottage table. It is not grand. It does not need to be. It is simply flour, fruit, spice and time, shared with whoever happens to be passing. And in rural Suffolk, that is often the very best kind of afternoon.