I have never liked hot cross buns, I don’t like mixed peel and I have never liked the glaze thy use. Then I tried these, it took me so long to find a way to make them amazing, but I’ve done it. (Over the years, you don’t want to many at once!!)
Ingredients:
1250g Strong white flour
4tsp Mixed Spice
90g Butter
170g Caster sugar
2 Lemons zested
3tsp Fast action yeast
2 Eggs
550g Warm milk
250g Sultanas
Topping:
4tbsp Plain flour
2tbsp Vegetable oil
2tbsp Golden syrup
Estimated time: 150 minutes
Directions:
Weigh your flour, mixed spice, sugar, yeast and lemon into a mixing bowl and slowly mix together.
Slowly heat up the milk in a pan, you don’t want it to boil so keep testing it with your finger, it just needs to feel almost hot to you. This will be roughly the perfect temperature as the yeast will start to die if the milk is too hot!
Slowly stir the two eggs into the flour followed by the warm milk. Once this is all added turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until the gluten has stretched. If using a mixer, mix the flour on a low speed whilst adding the milk and egg, once the dough has formed mix on a medium speed for roughly 10 minutes.You can tell this by doing a web test. Get a small amount of the dough and gently start to stretch it until it rips. You should be able to stretch it until you can see the colour change.
Now fold in the dried fruit. If doing this by hand it is easier to push the dough into a rectangle and sprinkle the fruit over it, fold the dough over the fruit and continue needing it all together. If using a mixer just add the fruit to it whilst mixing with a dough hook on a low speed.
Place the dough back into a bowl and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave this somewhere warm and allow to prove to roughly double the size. This should take about an hour, if it needs longer than that don’t worry just keep checking it.
Once the dough has doubled in size you need to knock the dough back. This doesn’t take long as all you are doing is knocking the air out, you will notice that it will shrink in size once the air is out. Now cover back up with cling film and allow to prove for another 30 minutes.
Now turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a knife or a scraper cut the dough into strips and then into small lumps. Feel free to weigh each one so they are all the same size! Now roll the dough not balls and place on lined trays, leave enough space between them for each one to prove.
Turn your oven onto about 100c and place the trays of buns in. Leave these for about 10mins or until doubled in size, keep checking just I case the oven is too hot, if it is just turn it down as you don’t want them to cook!!
In a small bowl weigh your plain flour and stir I the vegetable oil. You only want to add enough oil to make a paste that is easy to pipe, but not so runny that it won’t hold it’s shape.
Once the buns have doubled in size carefully pipe a cross onto each bun using the flour paste. Now bake at 200c for about 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown and sound slightly hollow when you tap the bottom.
One the buns have cooled heat up the golden syrup and glaze the buns using. Pastry rush or just a clean paintbrush!
And there you have it, ridiculously tasty to cross buns, and just in time for Easter!!! I hope you enjoy them, they are definitely worth the wait 🙂
Just the Basics 