Sticky buns

Put the warmed milk, yeast, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook and mix together. In a separate bowl, mix the flours and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the stand mixer bowl and mix on a low speed until it looks like a scraggy mess (you may need to use a dough scraper to bring the floury edges in). Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully combined, then mix on a medium speed until smooth and sticky with no flaky patches of dough left. Stop the mixer every so often and use a spatula or dough scraper to incorporate any dry bits of flour on the bottom.

On a medium speed, slowly add the butter, a piece at a time. Once all of it is incorporated, knead for 4 minutes, bringing the dough back together with your hands if it’s coming up the sides. The dough should be pillowy and soft, bouncing back when pressed lightly with your fingers. Tip the dough out onto a work surface, bring it together quickly, then transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and set aside to prove until doubled in size (1-2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge).

Grease a 22x30cm roasting tin with butter and pour in your chosen glaze (see overleaf). Once your dough has doubled in size, knock it back with your fist. Then, on a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 22x30cm rectangle, with a thickness of around 1cm (you may need to stretch the corners a little to keep it rectangular). Keeping a long edge closest to you, fill with one of the fillings (see overleaf), then roll into a tight log. With a bread knife, slice into 12 rolls, then put in the tin, cut-side up. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour-1 hour 30 minutes, until puffed up and touching.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Uncover the buns and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are a chestnut brown. While still warm, use a spatula to gently ease the buns from the sides of the tin. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then flip them out upside down onto a wire rack.