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Finger buns
Long soft bread buns with pink icing and coconut
Finger buns are the classic Australian school canteen and tuckshop bun, sold in every suburban bakery and supermarket from Perth to Brisbane: soft, slightly sweet long rolls, sometimes with sultanas, topped with bright pink icing and a scatter of desiccated coconut. Kids eat them split and buttered. A common mistake is icing them warm, which makes it run off; let them cool completely. Chef's tip: brush them with a sugar glaze straight from the oven for a soft, shiny crust under the icing.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the buns
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk
- 1 ⅜ oz buttersoftened
- 3 ½ oz sultanas (optional)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp hot water
For the icing
- 9 oz icing sugar
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 drops pink food colouring
- 1 oz desiccated coconut
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar and 1 tsp salt, add 1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk and 1 ⅜ oz butter and knead for 10 minutes to a soft, smooth dough. Knead in 3 ½ oz sultanas.
10 minStep 2: Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled.
60 minStep 3: Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a 13 cm finger. Set them on a lined tray 2 cm apart, cover and rise for 40–45 minutes until doubled. Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan).
45 minStep 4: Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding. Brush at once with 1 tbsp caster sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water. Cool completely.
15 minStep 5: Mix 9 oz icing sugar with 2 tbsp hot water and 2 drops pink food colouring to a thick icing. Spread along the top of each bun and sprinkle with 1 oz desiccated coconut.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does finger buns take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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