Hot Cross buns are one of the great joys of the season. It is not too late to mix up a batch of these beauties this weekend. Time being short, I modified the method from my usual in order to speed up the mixing process.
Hot Cross Buns
Makes 2 dozen
For the buns:
1 cup milk
1 cup hot water
4 teaspoons instant dried yeast - use the one in the sachet, it's always fresher.
100g softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
5 cups high grade flour
3 cups mixed dried fruit - this year I used 2 cups of raisins, 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped crystallised ginger
For the crosses
3 tablespoons flour
1-2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
a plastic disposable piping bag
For the glaze
3 tablespoons honey
Measure all the ingredients except the flour and fruit into a large bowl. Whisk them together; down worry if the butter stays in lumps.
Add the flour and using one hand stir the mixture around until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bench and knead until the dough is smooth and resilient when pressed.
It is a sticky little number, so just persevere even when it seems to stick to everything.
Once it's sufficiently elastic, sprinkle the bench with a little flour and knead the fruit into the dough.
Oil the mixing bowl (no need to wash it) coat the ball of dough in the oil. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap that has been dampened with water on the inside.
Leave the dough in the bowl in a warm place until it has at least doubled in size - as shown.
Once sufficiently risen, turn out of the bowl and knead lightly.
Preheat the oven to just 40deg. C.
Divide the dough into two and cover the half you are not working on.
Divide each half into four, then each four into three individual buns.
Shape the buns by rolling then in small circles between the bench and the open palm of your hand as shown.
Place them onto a lined baking tin and cover with a large piece of plastic food wrap that has been spread with a mixture of oil and water.
Put into the 40 degree oven to prove for about 30 minutes. The buns should have doubled in size as shown.
While they prove, mix up the cross paste. Mix the flour, sugar and water to form a soft paste. Add more water if the mixture is too stiff. Transfer the paste to a small disposable piping bag.
Once the buns have risen, take them from the oven and reset the temperature to 200deg. C.
Snip off the end of the piping bag and pipe lines across all the buns to form the crosses as shown.
Once the oven has reached 200deg. C. bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Melt the honey and use a pastry brush to glaze the buns with the honey while they are still warm.
Now find the butter and some friends, and you are ready for an Easter celebrating. These buns are best freshly baked, but can be heated the next day to warm and freshen them up.
This year I thought I would try a different Hot Cross Bun recipe. Just for a change. Thanks to last Saturday's The Press we all had plenty of inspiration with three recipes from local bakers to choose from. After careful consideration, and because I didn't have the time to leave the Le Panier buns to rise overnight, I decided on the Bellbird Baked Goods version. Being me, I have tweaked it a bit. The fresh orange and ginger gives these buns a delicious fresh flavour. I mixed these by hand as we didn't have a dough hook attachment at Mum and Dad's house.
Hot Cross Buns - adapted from the Bellbird Baked Goods Recipe
1 whole orange
60g fresh ginger
500g strong flour
200ml lukewarm water
10g salt
50g brown sugar
8g instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
100g sultanas
100g currents
100g softened butter
Cut up the orange and ginger and blend in a food processor to make a chunky pulp.
Combine the flour, salt, brown sugar, yeast and spices in a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl combine the orange and ginger pulp with the water.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and, using your hands, mix until a firm dough is formed.
Add the fruit and butter to the bowl and mix again until a soft ball of dough is formed.
Turn it out onto a clean bench.
No extra flour or oil is required as the butter stops the dough from sticking.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it springs back when pressed.
Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a sheet of dampened plastic film.
Leave in a warm place to rise for 2 to 3 hours.
It should double in size.
Turn out and cut into 16 even sized pieces.
The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough in half, then the halves in half again, then the quarters in half again.
Roll each bun until smooth and place then in a greased meat dish, or alternatively, two large baking tins.
Cover again with greased plastic food wrap and leave to rise for an hour until well risen.
While the buns rise preheat the oven to 190deg. C
Make the paste to pipe on for the crosses: mix 2 tablespoons of flour and a tablespoons of sugar mixed with a little water. Once the buns have risen, brush on some egg wash and pipe on the crosses.
Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. While still hot from the oven, brush with watered down apricot jam to glaze. Delicious with butter and a nice cup of tea!
Here is the link to last year's bun recipe.
