Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Makes 12 buns
300g whole milk
40g butter
15g fast action yeast (or 150g sourdough starter)
The juice and zest of an orange
Zest of a lemon
200g raisins or currants
100g mixed peel
2 tbsp cooking brandy
1 egg
3-4 tbsp marmalade (for the glaze)
For the dry ingredients:
300g strong white bread flour
200g strong wholemeal flour
50g caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp finely ground green cardamom seeds
10g fine sea salt
Recipe
A sensationally delicious hot cross bun recipe for Easter fun.
Warm the milk to 37C and put half in a small bowl with the fast action yeast. Whisk and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the butter to the remaining milk and warm gently until melted.
Sift together the flours, sugar, spices, sea salt and citrus zests in the bowl of a food mixer. Put the raisins and peel in a separate bowl and cover them with the juice of the orange and the brandy. Stir and set aside to soak. Now gradually add the two milks and the egg into the dry ingredients of the mixer mixing everything well with a dough hook for 10 minutes. Now add in the dried fruit and fold in with the hook on a low speed for a minute. The dough should be soft and ever so slightly sticky – if too wet sift in a little more flour. Oil a mixing bowl and empty the dough in, cover and prove for 1-2 hours in a warm spot.
After this time, knock the dough back and cut into uniform sizes each weighing about 110g. Roll into tight balls and transfer to a lined, greased tray, allowing some room around the buns to plump up. Cover with a damp tea towel and after a couple of hours they should look beautifully swollen. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan. Mix together a paste with flour and water to a piping consistency and decorate the buns with crosses (do not worry about them looking a little ragged, they will even out and look beautiful after a good bake in the oven). Bake for 18-20 minutes until looking golden and delicious.
Warm together the marmalade with equal parts of water (or use caster sugar) and a splash of brandy and brush the buns once they are out of the oven for a glossy glaze. DELICIOUS!!!! Toast and eat with plenty of butter and anything else that feels appropriate.
