Ingredients

350g Organic Khorasan flour

250g strong white flour

1 large free range egg

125g runny honey

10g instant yeast dissolved in 50g warm water

0.5 tsp ground cardamon

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

10g salt

250g whole goat's milk, heated then cooled to about 28 C

50g melted goat's butter

4 tsp fennel seeds, soaked for about 1 hr and drained. I like to soak them as they are less likely to scorch

Glaze: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbs water, a pinch each of salt and sugar

Of course, you can substitute cow's milk and butter...we just happen to use goat's milk and butter.

Method

Knead all the ingredients together with 3 tsp of the fennel seeds for around ten minutes. Leave to double, then turn out carefully onto an unfloured work face, shape into a tight sausage then divide into 16, and allow to rest for 15 minutes under a cloth. Roll each piece into a long sausage shape about 20cm long then coil into a loose snail snape. Put onto two baking sheets, lined with baking parchment, and dusted with semolina or coarse polenta. Allow to rise for 45 to 60 minutes until ready to bake.

Brush carefully with the glaze, then when you get to the last, brush a second time, and sprinkle the rest of the drained fennel seed on the buns.

In a preheated oven to gas no 7, they should take about 20 minutes to be baked. As they have honey they may turn brown too quickly. In my oven, I swap the tins at about 10 minutes, and then watch them carefully. Its great having the light on in the oven...I take the tray out and turn the buns, and sometimes move the outer ones to the inside, so that they can all more or less get that lovely even brown shiny colour.

Cool on a rack. These buns freeze really well, so that you can take out buns either a few hours or the night before, and refresh them in the oven, or warm them up from frozen.