Golden Raisin & Fennel Seed Pinwheels

These yummy breakfast 'buns' are similar to a cinnamon roll, sans cinnamon. They're essentially a yeasted enriched dough, similar to brioche and rolled up with honey, butter, boozy raisins and fennel seeds. I mean honestly, how bad could that be?! I was inspired by a recipe for 'Chelsea Buns' from River Cottage. I changed the recipe somewhat as I wanted them to resemble the butter and honey basted 'escargot', which I so love.

I've made these rolls a couple of times. The recipe is easy and comes out great every time. Do make this on your next lazy weekend morning. Or, make them the night before and reheat in the oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

Golden Raisin & Fennel Seed Pinwheels

Yields 12 rolls

For the dough:

8 oz unsalted butter, melted (1/2#/ 2 sticks)

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg

4 cups flour (2 cups brown rice flour, 1 cup quinoa flour, 1 cup almond meal)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 oz/ 2 packets active dry yeast (or 1 tsp instant yeast)
1 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp salt

For the filling:

4 TB unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup honey

1 cup golden raisins, soaked for 10 minutes in 2 TB grand marnier

2 tsp fennel seeds

For the glaze & topping:

2 TB unsalted butter, melted

2 TB honey

sprinkling of fennel seeds

1) Melt the butter in the microwave and warm the milk to 105 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the active dry yeast and the warm milk. Allow the yeast to 'bloom' for about 5 minutes. Add the egg and butter to the milk/ yeast mixture and whisk to combine.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, xanthan and salt. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Once dough forms, turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds. Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm, draft free place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3) Butter a 9"x 9"x 2" square baking pan. Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a well floured surface and roll out to a 12" x 16" rectangle. Brush the melted butter all over the dough, leaving a 2" border on the upper long side. Drizzle over the honey, sprinkle over the raisins (and any extra grand marnier), and the 2 tsp of fennel seeds. Starting with the long side closest to you, roll the dough up, like a long 'sausage', pressing to seal the top edge. Slice into 12 equal pieces and place, cut side up, in the prepared pan. Cover with plastic and allow to proof until almost doubled in size again, about 40 more minutes.

4) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the rolls have proofed, baste them with 2/3 of the butter and honey glaze and sprinkle with a few more fennel seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Check the rolls at 15 minutes to make sure they're not getting too dark around the edges. If so, cover loosely with foil and continue baking. When still warm, baste with the remaining butter and honey mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store, tightly covered, on the counter for up to 3 days.