Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!
Hoppy Easter fellow bakers - I hope the Easter Bunny made a visit to you over night! I was missed off his list this year but as soon I can can have chocolate again I plan to make up for missing out on both Christmas and Easter chocolates!
This year, Easter Sunday is a day in the kitchen for me - I appear to have passed on the flu I was suffering with last weekend to my entire family. So now that I am on the mend they are all poorly! Which means - I'm in charge of cooking dinner! Before rustling up today's roast I thought I would indulge in some Easter themed baking and picked to make Hot Cross Buns.
Hot Cross Buns are made with an enriched bread dough - enriched means that it isn't just a usual combination of flour, yeast, salt and water but that the dough has a little something extra in the form of butter, milk and eggs.
Hot cross buns are filled with dried fruit and flavoured with a mix of spices - you can stick with the traditional or experiment with different flavourings if you want. I have gone traditional for this bake as I haven't made them before. If they turn out ok then next time I will think about mixing it up a little.
As is the way when I step into the kitchen I can't seem to just make one thing! A few weeks ago I made some indulgent marshmallow chocolate brownies for the ladies at work. At the time I promised my Dad that I would make them again so that he could have them warm with chocolate custard. As it was his birthday on Monday (but I was too full of the flu to bake) I've also whipped up a batch of these today as a belated birthday treat for him to have tonight after our roast dinner.
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| Marshmallow Chocolate Brownies A special treat for Easter pudding! |
Anyway, let's get started on the hot cross buns!
I realised when making these that there is a reason I don't often make breads and it's that I am way too impatient! The proving process is really important and shouldn't be rushed so I had to distract myself with making chocolate brownies so that I didn't end the proving early on the basis of being eager to bake them and see how they turn out!
To make 12 hot cross buns you will need:
To make the crosses:
To make the glaze:
To make the dough, start by gently melting the butter into the milk. Whilst this is melting combine the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg and dried fruits into a bowl and gently mix to combine the ingredients.
At this stage, either use your dough hook to knead for 3 minutes or do it by hand for 5. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before kneading for a further 3 or 5 minutes dependant on whether you are using a machine or not to do this for you.
Cover with clingfilm and leave your dough to prove for 1.5 hours. I filled by 1.5 hours by making chocolate brownies, doing the washing up and having a go at my latest self taught skill - crocheting flowers!
After your dough has proved you now need to shape your buns. I cut my dough into 12 equal portions of around 95g each, rolled them into balls and placed them on a baking tray with plenty of room between each bun.
The buns now have a 2nd prove for 45 minutes - you will need to cover your buns with a plastic bag for this. Try to make sure your plastic bag doesn't touch your buns.
Towards the end of this 2nd prove, heat your oven to 180c fan and make the paste for your crosses by mixing 8 tablespoons of flour to 6 tablespoons of water. Transfer this mixture to a piping bag.
Remove your buns from their plastic proving bag, and pipe a cross using the flour and water paste on the top of each bun. They are now ready to cook for 15-18 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they are a deep golden colour all over and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of each bun.
Whilst they are still hot you need to glaze them with the hot milk and sugar mixture. Use a pastry brush to glaze them all over. This will add the perfect finish to your buns. When they come out of the oven they are quite dull but this glaze gives them a lovely shine and really sets of the golden colour well.
Let your buns cool on a wire rack before tucking in to them. My mum was chief taster today and had hers toasted with butter.
And that's all there is too it! I was really pleased with how these turned out and would definitely consider baking them again as an alternative to scones for a tea time treat.
Happy baking - let me know how you get on!
Rach x
I realised when making these that there is a reason I don't often make breads and it's that I am way too impatient! The proving process is really important and shouldn't be rushed so I had to distract myself with making chocolate brownies so that I didn't end the proving early on the basis of being eager to bake them and see how they turn out!
To make 12 hot cross buns you will need:
- 500g strong white flour
- 150g mixed dried fruit
- 7g fast action yeast
- 7g sea salt
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 50g light brown sugar
- 250ml milk
- 60g unsalted butter
- 1 egg
To make the crosses:
- 8 tablespoons of strong white flour
- 6 tablespoons of cold water
To make the glaze:
- 4 tablespoons of milk (hot)
- 2 table spoons of caster sugar
To make the dough, start by gently melting the butter into the milk. Whilst this is melting combine the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg and dried fruits into a bowl and gently mix to combine the ingredients.
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| Top tip - when combining your dry ingredients put the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl. This stops the salt from impacting on the yeast's rising powers! |
When the butter has melted into the milk, allow it to cool a little before adding this, and a beaten egg to your dry ingredients. Mix this together well - I put mine in my freestanding electric mixer with the dough hook attachment. If you haven't got one of these - using your hands will do exactly the same job.
At this stage, either use your dough hook to knead for 3 minutes or do it by hand for 5. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before kneading for a further 3 or 5 minutes dependant on whether you are using a machine or not to do this for you.
Cover with clingfilm and leave your dough to prove for 1.5 hours. I filled by 1.5 hours by making chocolate brownies, doing the washing up and having a go at my latest self taught skill - crocheting flowers!
After your dough has proved you now need to shape your buns. I cut my dough into 12 equal portions of around 95g each, rolled them into balls and placed them on a baking tray with plenty of room between each bun.
The buns now have a 2nd prove for 45 minutes - you will need to cover your buns with a plastic bag for this. Try to make sure your plastic bag doesn't touch your buns.
Towards the end of this 2nd prove, heat your oven to 180c fan and make the paste for your crosses by mixing 8 tablespoons of flour to 6 tablespoons of water. Transfer this mixture to a piping bag.
Remove your buns from their plastic proving bag, and pipe a cross using the flour and water paste on the top of each bun. They are now ready to cook for 15-18 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they are a deep golden colour all over and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of each bun.
Whilst they are still hot you need to glaze them with the hot milk and sugar mixture. Use a pastry brush to glaze them all over. This will add the perfect finish to your buns. When they come out of the oven they are quite dull but this glaze gives them a lovely shine and really sets of the golden colour well.
Let your buns cool on a wire rack before tucking in to them. My mum was chief taster today and had hers toasted with butter.
Happy baking - let me know how you get on!
Rach x
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