TANGZHONG

1. Place the flour and milk in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and forms a thick paste - this should take 2-3 minutes from start to finish. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top to prevent a skin forming. Cool to room temperature. I like to soak my fruit while this is cooling. 

BREAD DOUGH

1. Place the raisins and currants in a medium bowl and cover with the tea. Leave to stand for 30 minutes then drain well. I like to drain the fruit while I am mixing my dough.
2. Remove the plastic wrap from the Tangzhong or transfer it into the bowl of the mixer if it was not already. Add all the remaining dough ingredients except for the butter and the drained fruit.
3. Fit the mixer with the dough hook, and mix on medium to high speed for 10-12 minutes. The dough will look super sticky and like it will not come together - trust me here. It will. Don't freak out. Set a timer and walk away from the mixer if you need to. 
4. Mix the dough until it is soft and smooth, and is clearing the sides of the bowl. This takes me about 12 minutes but may take you more or less time depending on your mixer. Go by how the dough is looking rather than the time. If it is really not coming together, add bread flour a teaspoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Add the butter and mix on medium for a further 3-5 minutes until incorporated. 
5. Turn the dough out onto an unfloured surface and lightly press into a rectangle. Add the drained fruit on top of the dough and fold it up to incorporate. Knead the dough with the help of a bench scraper until the fruit is evenly incorporated. It will be weird and squishy at the start but it all incorporates eventually. Use a little flour if needed to shape the dough into a ball, then place into a lightly oiled or buttered large bowl or container. 
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to rise until approximately doubled in size. This should take anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours. You can do this in a large clear sided container if you need and mark where the dough line is when you start the rise so you can measure easily. 
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Weigh the dough, then divide into 16 equal pieces (about 105g each). Shape each into a tight ball, then place the balls of dough under a piece of lightly greased plastic wrap and leave to rest for 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, grease two 9x5" (23cm x 12.7cm) loaf tins with butter. 
8. Re-shape each ball of dough into a tight ball (using a little flour helps tuck all the fruit inside the ball), and arrange 8 in each loaf pan, in two lines of four. 
9. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot for 1-2 hours until the buns are puffy and when pressed lightly with a finger, leaves a small indentation that starts to spring back.
10. Toward the end of the rising process, preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c bake. 
11. Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes until golden brown, and registering 90°c /190°f internal temperature (make sure you test in a few places so your thermometer isn't accidentally in a raisin!). If the loaves are starting to brown too much, you can cover the pans with foil after about 25 minutes. 
12. Toward the end of the baking process, make the sugar syrup. Brush the buns with the syrup as soon as they come out of the oven. 
13. Leave the loaves to cool then serve warm or at room temperature with butter. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, and slice and toast before serving.

SUGAR SYRUP

1. Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes, then leave to stand until ready to use.