Dan Lepard is one of the world's best bakers and has worked at Locanda Locatelli, Zafferano, Alastair Little and Baker and Spice.
Chelsea buns
For the filling:
50g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter, softened
zest of lemon
tsp freshly grated nutmeg
100g currants
For the dough:
150g plain white flour
300g strong white flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
100g milk at 20 C
100g water at 20 C
2 medium eggs
50g golden syrup
2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
To serve:
melted butter for greasing the tin
caster sugar for dredging
For the filling: combine all the ingredients apart from the currants until you have a soft paste. Leave this in a warm (21-25 C) place while you make the dough.
For the dough: in a large bowl, combine the two flours with the salt. In another bowl or jug, place the milk, water, eggs, golden syrup, and fresh yeast. Whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid in with the dry ingredients and stir with your hands until you have a soft, sticky dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Rub 1 tsp of corn or olive oil on the work-surface and knead the dough for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the bowl, then rub lightly with a tsp of oil. Return the dough to the bowl and leave for a further 10 minutes. Knead the dough once more on the oiled surface, returning it to a round ball. Replace in bowl, cover, and leave for 1 hour in a warm place.
Line the base of a 30cm square cake tin with non-stick baking parchment and brush paper and sides with melted butter. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough out into a 35cm square. Crumble the filling over the dough and press it down into the surface, then scatter the currants evenly across the dough. Roll the dough up tightly from one end. Cut into nine equal pieces, then place these in the tin. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 210 C/410 F/gas mark 6. Uncover tin and dredge the surface of the dough with caster sugar. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 mins, then reduce heat to 190 C/ 375 F/gas mark 5 for a further 15-20 minutes, until a good brown colour on top. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Brush with sugar glaze and serve warm.
Honey and ginger wafers
For the spice mix:
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
tsp grated nutmeg
tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cardamom pods
tsp fennel seeds
For the dough:
250g runny honey
150g unsalted butter
2 tbsp double cream
150g plain white flour
150g light rye flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g soft brown sugar
spice mix
For the glaze:
1 medium egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
tsp fine sea salt
For the spice mix: pound spice ingredients together until fine.
For the dough: in a saucepan, heat honey with butter over a low heat until butter has melted. Stir and leave to cool, then stir in the double cream.
In a large bowl, combine the plain white and rye flours with the soda and soft brown sugar. Add the spice mix and toss with your fingers. Pour the warm honey, butter, and cream mixture in with the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth dough. Cover with a damp cloth, and leave for 20 minutes, or wrap well and leave at room temperature (21 C) overnight.
Preheat the oven to 210 C/410 F/gas mark 6. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and place the dough on top of it. Roll to a thickness of 5mm. Using an 8cm round cutter, cut dough and place on a 30x40cm tray lined with non-stick baking parchment.
For the glaze: whisk the egg, yolk, water, and salt together, then brush the surfaces. Use fork to make a cross in each surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 mins, or until the surface is golden brown..
Simple milk loaf
1 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
350g whole milk at 20 C
20g golden or maple syrup
250g plain white flour
250g strong white flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
25g warm melted unsalted butter
In a large bowl, whisk the yeast with the milk and syrup. Add the flours and the salt, and squidge together with your hands until you have a soft, sticky dough. Pour over the warm melted butter, and then squeeze into the dough. Cover bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Rub 1 tsp of olive oil on the work surface and knead dough for 10 seconds, ending with it in a smooth round ball. Wipe the bowl clean and rub with 1 tsp olive oil, return the dough to it, cover and leave for 10 mins. Repeat this kneading twice more, at 10 minute intervals, then leave for 30 mins.
Grease and flour a deep loaf tin (12x19cm). Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Drop them side-by-side into the prepared tin, cover with a cloth, and leave to rise for 1 hours, or until almost doubled in height.
Preheat the oven to 210 C/410F/gas mark 6. Brush the top of the loaf with a little milk, and bake for 15 mins, then lower heat to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4 and bake for a further 25-30 mins, until the loaf top is a shiny dark brown, and sides come away from the the tin. Cool on a wire rack.
Rosemary and fresh cheese sticks
For the ferment:
150g soft white flour
250g whole milk
tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
For the dough:
250g soft flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
80g unsalted butter
50g fresh curd cheese, such as ricotta
large sprig of rosemary, chopped
For the ferment: combine all ingredients and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
For the dough: combine the flour with the salt in a bowl. Rub the butter, cheese, and rosemary into the dry ingredients until the butter and cheese are evenly mixed.
Stir ferment into the flour mix, and scrunch dough together with your hands until evenly mixed. Cover and leave for 10 minutes. Rub 1 tsp olive oil on the work surface and knead dough for 10 seconds, ending with a smooth, round ball. Wipe the bowl clean, replace dough, cover and leave for a further 10 minutes. Repeat this light kneading twice more at 10-minute intervals. Then leave the dough for 1 hour, kneading it once more during that time.
Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough out into a 20x30cm rectangle. Cut thin strips across the width of the dough, each less than a centimetre thick, then roll these with your hands on the work-surface so they elongate and become strands of dough about 40cm long. Lay them on a tray lined with non-stick baking parchment, leaving space so they do not stick together. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 mins, until sticks are crisp and golden. Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack.
Light rye flatbread
300g strong white flour
100g fine rye flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
300g water at 20oC
1 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
3 tsp honey
In a bowl, combine the flours with the salt. In another bowl, whisk the water with the yeast and honey. Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients, squeezing the dough until evenly combined. Cover, leave for 10 minutes. Rub 1 tsp olive oil on the work surface and knead for 10-15 seconds. Return dough to bowl, cover and leave for 10 mins. Remove from bowl and knead for 10-15 seconds. Replace in bowl, cover and leave for 10 mins, then knead for 10-15 seconds.
Give the dough a turn, and repeat after 45 and 90 mins. It should be puffy and the surface blistered with bubbles. On a well-floured surface, roll dough to a thickness of 8mm. Using a 10cm round cutter, cut discs and place them, spaced, on floured baking trays. Cover with cloth. Re-knead trimmings so that dough is smooth again. Cover and leave for 10 mins before rolling and cutting into discs. Leave for 1 hours, until almost doubled in height. Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F/gas mark 6. With floured fingertips, make dimples in the surface of each disc. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the surface is gently coloured. Slide on to a cooling rack. If you prefer the breads softish, cover with a cloth while they cool.
To order The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard (Mitchell Beazley, £20) for £18.40 with free UK p&p, call the Observer Book Service on 0870 836 0885.
