Ingredients

Dough

• 500 g strong white bread flourstrong, not plain; an enriched dough needs the gluten
• 7 g instant yeast
• 60 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 240 ml whole milk, lukewarm
• 1 large egg + 1 yolk
• 75 g softened unsalted butter

Filling

• 80 g softened butter
• 110 g dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon

Apple filling

• 350 g peeled diced applea firm eating apple, so it keeps its shape inside the roll
• 25 g butter
• 35 g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Salted caramel

• 100 g caster sugar
• 45 g butter
• 100 ml double creamwarmed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method

1. 01

   Start the dough

   Whisk the bread flour, instant yeast, caster sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, keeping the salt and yeast on opposite sides until they are mixed through the flour.

   500 g strong white bread flour · 7 g instant yeast · 60 g caster sugar · 1 tsp salt

2. 02

   Bring it together

   Add the lukewarm milk (about body temperature: it should feel neither warm nor cold on your wrist) and the egg plus yolk. Mix on low with a dough hook for 2-3 minutes until there is no dry flour left and the dough is a shaggy ball.

   240 ml whole milk, lukewarm

3. 03

   Work in the butter, then knead

   With the mixer on medium-low, add the softened butter a cube at a time, waiting until each piece disappears before adding the next, about 4 minutes in total. Then knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, glossy and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Test it: stretch a piece between your fingers and it should thin to a translucent membrane before tearing.

   75 g softened unsalted butter

4. 04

   First prove

   Cover and leave somewhere draught-free until roughly doubled in size, usually 60-90 minutes at normal room temperature, longer in a cold kitchen. Judge it by volume, not the clock: a finger pressed 1 cm into the dough should leave a dent that fills back only slowly.

   Prove by volume, not clockA cold kitchen easily doubles these times. An under-proved roll bakes up dense.

5. 05

   Cook the apples and cool them

   While it proves, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the diced apple, brown sugar and cinnamon and cook for 5-6 minutes until just tender at the edges but still holding shape. Spread on a plate and cool completely. Warm filling melts the butter layer and the rolls unravel.

   25 g butter · 350 g peeled diced apple · 35 g brown sugar · 1/2 tsp cinnamon

   Cool the apples completelyWarm fruit melts the butter as you roll and the spiral slides apart in the oven.

6. 06

   Fill and roll

   Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 45 x 35 cm, with a long edge towards you. Spread the softened butter right to the edges, then scatter over the dark brown sugar mixed with the cinnamon, and finally the cooled apples. Roll up tightly from the long edge, keeping even tension, and cut into 12 with a length of unflavoured dental floss or a very sharp knife. Press down rather than saw, or you will squash the spiral.

   80 g softened butter · 110 g dark brown sugar · 2 tbsp cinnamon

   Cut with dental flossSlip it under, cross over the top, pull. A knife drags and flattens one side.

7. 07

   Second prove

   Arrange the rolls cut side up in a buttered 23 x 33 cm dish with a little space between them, cover and prove for 30-45 minutes until visibly puffy and touching their neighbours. They should wobble as a group when you nudge the dish.

8. 08

   Bake

   Bake at 180 C / 160 C fan for 23-28 minutes, until deeply golden and the centre roll reads 88-92 C on a probe, or feels firm rather than doughy when pressed. Cover loosely with foil if the tops darken before the middle is done.

9. 09

   Make the salted caramel

   Melt the caster sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, until it is a deep amber, 5-8 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the butter (it will bubble up hard, so stand back), then pour in the warmed cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Warm cream is important: cold cream makes the caramel seize into a solid lump. Stir in the sea salt off the heat.

   100 g caster sugar · 45 g butter · 100 ml double cream · 1/2 tsp sea salt

10. 10

    Pour while warm

    Pour the caramel over the rolls while both are still warm so it sinks into the spirals rather than sitting on top. Serve within the hour, when the crumb is at its softest.