BLUEBERRY, ORANGE & HONEY PLAIT

Makes 1 large plait

115g warm milk, 25–30°C

1 medium egg, plus 1 egg, beaten, for glazing

14g fresh yeast, crumbled, or 7g fast-action dried yeast

250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp salt

35g honey, plus extra for glazing

Grated zest of 1 orange

35g room-temperature unsalted butter, broken up into pieces

100g blueberries

Pearl sugar nibs, for sprinkling l In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and yeast with a balloon whisk until the yeast has softened. Add the flour, salt, honey and orange zest, then mix with a scraper until the mixture starts to form a rough dough. Add the butter and dimple it into the dough with your fingertips. l Turn your dough out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes. l Cover the dough with a clean cloth and rest on the work surface for 5–10 minutes or so. l Dust the work surface lightly with flour and roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a 15cm circle. Sprinkle 75g of the blueberries evenly all over the dough right to the edge, then press down with your palms to stick them to the dough. l Roll up your dough into a loose sausage, then turn it 90º, press it flat with your fingertips and roll up again into a short sausage. Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Sprinkle the top with a little flour, cover with an upturned bowl and rest at room temp for 1½–2 hours. l Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Working one at a time, flatten a dough sausage and roll it up into a sausage again, then roll it with your palms on the work surface until it's about 40–45cm long. At this point some blueberries might burst, but do your best to be delicate but firm enough to roll your sausages out nice and long, dusting any sticky patches as you go. l Line up the 4 strands vertically and pinch the tops together to join them. Working with the strands in 2 pairs and starting with the right pair, fold the right strand over the left. Repeat with the left pair, folding the right strand over the left. Next, take the 2 strands now in the middle and fold the left over the right. Repeat to the end. Press the ends together to stick and tuck them underneath the plait. Place on your lined tray. l Cover your plait loosely with cling film dusted with flour and rest for 1 hour. Towards the end of resting, preheat your oven to 180°C fan with a deep tray on the oven floor. Half fill a kettle and boil it. l Stud the plait with the remaining blueberries. Place your tray gently on to a middle shelf and carefully pour the hot water into the tray below. Bake for 30–35 minutes. Slide a knife underneath and lift to have a peep at the underside. If it’s golden, it’s done, but if it’s a little pale in the middle, bake for another 3–5 minutes at a time until it’s ready. l As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, transfer carefully to a wire rack. Place the lining paper underneath to catch any honey. Drizzle the top generously with honey while hot, then use a pastry brush to brush it all over and sprinkle over some pearl sugar nibs.

Dust the work surface lightly with flour and use your dough scraper to turn the dough out upside down onto it, sticky side up. Use your fingertips to flatten the dough gently into a circle. Cut it into 4 equalsized wedges. Starting at the pointy end, roll up each wedge of dough into a loose sausage. Cover with a clean cloth and rest for 10 minutes to relax the dough ready for the next stage.