Plum Shuttles (Valentine's Buns) Heritage Recipe

Plum Shuttles with Organic Cotton Heart Stripes Tea Towel by Miller Honeyman

Plum Shuttles (pronounced 'shittles')!, also known as Valentine's Buns, originate from Rutland and Leicestershire. Although they are not local to me I like the tradition and the association with the weaving industry. They are sweet little currant buns that were traditionally given to children (or to your sweetheart) on Valentine's Day.

Their shape is supposed to resemble a weaver's shuttle but this was my first attempt and I'm afraid I didn't make them long and pointed enough.

I came across the recipe in 'Cattern Cakes & Lace, A Calendar of Feats' by Julia Jones and Barbara Deer. Further research indicates that some people's recipes included spices such as caraway, nutmeg and ginger.

I am a complete novice at baking recipes that contain yeast and I was convinced that I had done everything wrong and they would be a total disaster, but actually they turned out very nice. Mine were somewhere between a bun and a scone and were very good buttered.

I have included some of my tips and observations below.

Ingredients

450g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4g dried yeast

1/2 tablespoon sugar

70ml warm water

50g butter

125ml milk

1 egg plus another beaten egg to brush the tops

225g currants

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6

1. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl

2. Mix the yeast and sugar together and mix with the warm water. Leave for 20 minutes until it goes frothy

3. Put the milk and butter in a pan and warm on a low heat until the butter has melted. Beat in the egg.

4. Add the milk mixture, yeast mixture and currants to the flour. Mix well and knead to a smooth paste. Knead for around 10 minutes.

5. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes. Knock back and knead again for a few minutes.

6. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into oval buns with pointed ends. Cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place again for 30 minutes

7. Brush the tops with beaten egg and bake for between 15 - 25 minutes until golden and they sound hollow when you tap them.

My First Time Maker's Tips and Observations

1. Make sure your water is on the hot side of warm. It took me 3 goes to get the yeast mixture to go frothy because my water wasn't warm enough.

2. My dough needed a little more water so I increased it to approximately 70ml from the recipe's 60ml.

3. My dough didn't rise much at all. Not sure why!

4. The recipe I followed said bake for 25-30 minutes but mine were done in around 15 minutes.

Let me know how it goes or if you have any more information on the history and tradition of this recipe.

Happy baking!

And if you like my organic cotton tea towel featured on the first picture, it is available to buy from the homeware section of my website.

Heart Stripes Organic Cotton Tea Towel

£14.00

Buy Now