Roly-poly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
In a bowl, mix the chopped suet, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add water gradually to form a moderately stiff paste.
Roll out the paste to about ⅓ inch thick.
Fill and roll
Spread your choice of jam or breadcrumbs and treacle, leaving a 1-inch border.
Roll the dough up tightly and press the edges to seal.
Wrap and boil
Place the roll in a floured cloth dipped in boiling water.
Tie both ends of the cloth and stitch the middle to secure.
Boil for 2 hours.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Suet
- Melts during boiling, making the crust rich, tender and moist.
- Flour
- Forms the paste's structure, holding the roll together while it cooks.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the moist dough, helping the pudding rise and turn light.
- Preserve or jam
- Adds sweetness and fruity moisture that soaks into the surrounding dough as it cooks.
The step that matters
Rolling and sealing the dough tightly. A loose roll or unsealed edges let filling leak out and water seep into the pudding, so it turns soggy and falls apart. Tight rolling and a firm seal keep the filling inside and the shape intact during the long boil.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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