Hot Cross Buns

A Good Friday with the house filled with the smell of spicy hot cross buns, fresh out the oven bathed in butter...sounds like a pretty good Friday to me!

Let me get this out of the way...I LOVE Hot Cross Buns, I don't really indulge in them throughout the year, but every time Easter comes around I am reminded of my sweet raisiny (yes, raisins!) obsession. I also am an absolute sucker for ANYTHING Christmas spice...so Hot Cross Buns are just magnificent, hot out the oven lathered with butter. Sounds like heaven to me!

So, I attempted them, and they came out really well, considering I thought I was going to sit with FLOP cross buns. My dough didn't rise as well as I would have liked, I was rock cross buns when they came out the over. To my absolute delight, they rose pretty well in the oven and came out waaaaay better than I expected, amazing in fact! And between the three of us, we ate our body weight in Hot Cross Buns yesterday...be warned!

Hot Cross Buns

Makes: 12 buns

Time: 3 hours with rising time

Ingredients for the buns

• 4 ½ cups All Purpose Bread Flour (although I used Cake Flour)

• 2 T Mixed Spice

• 2 T Cinnamon

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 3 ½ T Butter

• 1 ½ cups milk

• 2 cups dried Sultanas

• 1 packet active yeast (10g)

• ½ cup caster sugar

Ingredients for the crosses

• ½ cup flour

• 1/4 cup water

Ingredients for the glaze

• 1 T Apricot Jam

• 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. In a stand mixer place all the dry ingredients for the buns (Ingredients list 1) in the mixing bowl and give them a stir.

2. Warm butter and milk on the stove or microwave until butter has melted, add this to your dry ingredients.

3. Mix on a slow speed (mine was on 2) for about 5 minutes. I stopped half way to scrape the edges), you are done when the dough is no longer sticky and pulls away from the bowl, it is also nice and pliable without breaking. See below video for reference (ref 1).

4. When the dough is ready cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm, dry, windless spot. It should double in size (about 90 min)

5. Once the dough has risen, knead the air out of dough and form a sausage to cut 12 equal slices.

6. Flatten each slice with palm of your hand, then pinch the edges in to form a ball using your fingers, placing the smooth side up onto a greased baking pan. See reference video below.

7. Let those balls rise for 30 min.

8. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

9. While the buns are rising mix together a runny, but not too runny, paste for the crosses. These will be piped onto the buns when they are ready for the oven.

10. Once the buns have risen for 20-30 min bake in the oven until golden brown. I put the grill on the for the final two minutes to get nice golden tops.

11. While the buns are cooling slightly, still on the pan. Heat your jam and water to make a glaze.

12. Glaze the buns with Apricot Jam glaze. Let them cool....but if you are like me you devoured a piping hot one, while scolding your mouth...but it was all worth it!