Hot Cross Buns

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I feel like I’m cheating this week, using one of my older recipes, but I’ve taken the opportunity to change it around a little bit to make it faster and easier. I know you can buy hot cross buns, and I do, but I always take the time to make at least one batch of home-made buns, the smell is divine and you can’t beat a fresh hot cross bun, straight out of the oven and dripping in butter. They’re a lovely way to try out a yeasty dough, and are great the next day as well, toasted and smothered in butter.

I use my mixer to knead the dough, but if you don’t have a mixed, then knead by hand - it’s a soft dough so it isn’t hard to knead, and it also doesn’t take long for the gluten to develop, so it won’t need a lot of kneading. You can use any fruit, I like raisins, currants and lemon peel, and generally buy mixed fruit to use in this. You can also citrus it up, by adding a teaspoon of grated lemon rind and orange rind.

Enjoy and

Happy Cooking

gill

Hot Cross Buns

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  • 1 tablespoon dried yeast

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 300ml warm milk

  • 50g butter, melted

  • 1 egg, lightly whisked

  • 3 1/2 cups (600 grams) plain flour

  • 250g mixed dried fruit (I used sultanas, currants and some mixed peel) 

  • 70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

  • 3 teaspoons mixed spice

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

  • A pinch of salt

  • Flour paste - 1/2 cup plain flour + 100mls water

  • Glaze - 1/3 cup water + 2 tablespoons caster sugar 

Method

  1. Whisk yeast, sugar and warm milk together. Set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in the melted butter and egg. Combine flour, dried fruit, sugar, mixed spice and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture. Stir to combine, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Or like me, let the mixer and dough hook do the work.

  2. Place in a buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise for an hour or two in a warm place until doubled in size.

  3. Punch down the centre of the dough with your fist. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes. Shape into 15 even portions. (I like my photos to look pretty so I weigh the mixture - about 92 grams each). Grease a baking tray with butter. Place portions side by side in the prepared pan.

  4. Cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside for 30 minutes, buns will have risen and almost joined together.

  5. Preheat oven to 190° Celsius (375° Fahrenheit). Combine flour and water to make a paste. Place in a sealable plastic bag. Cut 1 corner from the bag to make a 2mm hole. Pipe crosses onto the buns. Because the buns are close together, I just pipe lines right across the top of all the buns, see the picture below.

  6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

  7. Heat sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer gently until the glaze thickens (about 5 minutes).

  8. Transfer buns to a wire rack and brush tops with hot glaze.

  9. Serve warm, smothered in butter.