It began as a Chelsea bun challenge - an opportunity for me to perfect a recipe (and practice baking with yeast...) and introduce home baking in the office via a favourite bun. It also happened that two of my work colleagues follow English Football (Soccer) & were about to become manager and coach of the school knockout team - for a bit of fun...

Week 1 - Chelsea Bun - Football Team - Chelsea
Chelsea buns are said to have been invented by the owner of the Chelsea Bun House in London at the end of the 17th Century.

Chelsea Football Team - S.W. London
Founded & Professional: 1905
Club Nickname: The Blues


500g Strong White Flour
1 tsp Salt
60g Butter
1 x 7g sachet of Fast Action Yeast
30g Castor Sugar
about 200ml Tepid Milk
1 large Egg, beaten
Sunflower Oil for greasing
4 Tbsp clear Honey

FILLING
60g Butter
30g Light Muscovado Sugar
60g Sultanas
grated zest of 1 Orange
1 tsp mixed spice

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the salt. Rub in the butter and yeast. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the middle, pour in the milk and egg & mix to a soft dough.

2. Oil a large bowl. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 10-15min). Shape into a round and place in the bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size.

3. Make the filling: cream the butter with the muscovado sugar. In another bowl, combine the sultanas, currants, orange zest, and mixed spice.

4. Lightly oil and 18x28cm roasting tin. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knock back with your fists. Knead for 2 - 3 minutes until smooth.

5. Roll out into a 30cm square and dot with the butter mixture. Fold in half and roll out into a 30 cm square. Sprinkle with fruit mixture then roll up.

6. Cut roll into 12 pieces and arrange cut side up in the roasting tin. Cover with oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or until the pieces are close to double in size and touching.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees Celcius for 20-25 minutes until well risen, covering the buns after about 15 minutes with foil to prevent them from browning too much. Transfer to a wire rack.

8. Warm the honey in a small pan and brush over buns to glaze. Pull the buns apart and serve warm.

Recipe from The Complete Everyday Cookbook, Mary Berry Published by Dorling Kindersley 1995

YUM! they went down a treat although I could've risen them a little longer - tricky to know as I made these at the beginning of winter and misjudged the warm spot - and was working with a tight time limit (early in the morning before work). All agreed that they were very tasty....

After some discussion over the Chelsea Buns we decided that a Fantasy Football Baking Challenge would be fun. Choose a Football Team (English Soccer Team) and bake something from the region or significant to the team - also provides a little variety. So Thursday's have become Fantasy Football Baking Challenge Morning Tea...

Next Week: Tottenham Hotspurs