Cheltenham Dripper

Name: Cheltenham Dripper
Ingredients: 1 lb Bread flour; 1 tsp Salt; 2 tbsp Butter unsalted; 1 pckt Fast acting yeast; 10 fl oz Water; 3 oz Shortening (Crisco or similar) - Cold; 4 tbsp Butter unsalted; 7 oz Raisins; 3 oz Soft brown sugar; 2 tbsp Butter unsalted; 2 tbsp Soft brown sugar; 1 tbsp Soft brown sugar; 1 tbsp Honey; 1 tbsp Water

Features:

Cuisine:

British

Serves 8
Medium

Directions

This is the classic Cheltenham Dripper except for the added fruit which purists will tell you is an absolute sin. Feel free to leave out the fruit if you wish to be the purist, I will not be offended.

Cheltenham Dripper

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Course: Breads & Rolls, Cakes and pastries

Cuisine: British

Keyword: bread, Cheltenham, dripper, lardy cake

Servings: pieces

Ingredients

For the dough

1 lb Bread flour
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Butter unsalted
1 pckt Fast acting yeast
10 fl oz Water

For the filling

3 oz Shortening (Crisco or similar) - Cold
4 tbsp Butter unsalted
7 oz Raisins
3 oz Soft brown sugar

For the baking dish

2 tbsp Butter unsalted
2 tbsp Soft brown sugar

For the glaze

1 tbsp Soft brown sugar
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Water

Instructions

Begin by making the bread dough. Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and rub in the butter. Mix in the yeast then add the water, mixing well to bring it all together.Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm or a damp tea towel then leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.
When the dough is ready, on a lightly floured work surface, knock the air out and knead gently to bring the dough back into a ball. Now, for the fun part. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. This is easier said than done as the dough will be extremely stretchy and will try to keep pulling back.
Using 1/3rd of the butter and lard or shortening, dot these over the dough before sprinkling on 1/3rd of the sugar and 1/3 of the dried fruits (if using) pressing them into the dough a little to stop them falling off during the next step.
The next step is a lot like making flaky pastry. Working in thirds, take one end and fold it so that it covers the middle third of the dough.
Now fold the other end all the way over the top so you have a three layer dough sandwiching the butter, shortening and fruit.
Now repeat this process two more times, rolling the dough out into the large rectangle, dotting with 1/3 of the butter, shortening and fruit then folding one end in and the other end over.
Finally, roll out the dough to the size of the baking dish, place the dripper carefully in the dish, pressing it to fill the dish, especially pushing it into the corners. Now cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until well risen to almost fill the dish.
Bake at 400ºF for about 30 minutes until a lovely golden color. Just before the dripper is ready, warm the honey and water together to make the glaze. Brush the glaze over the dripper as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Cut the dripper into 8 or 12 slices and leave the dripper in the tin for 1 or 2 minutes – for longer or the toffee base will set up and make it difficult to get the dripper slices out of the dish. If it does start to set up, pop it back in the oven for a few minutes.