Hot Cross Buns

madnad

One of the great joys of Easter is not just the abundance of chocolate, but hot cross buns.

This delicious treat is great served at tea time, or for breakfast, toasted with a little butter. It is often thought that the cross on top of the bun is meant to represent the crucifixion, but these buns were eaten by the pagan Anglo-Saxons. The round bun represented the moon, and the cross was the wheel of the year, and linked with the goddess Eostre the namesake of the festival Easter.

Make yourself a couple of batches, then pop them in the freezer, and you should have hot cross buns throughout the whole of the holiday. For a truly decadent treat, throw in a few chocolate chips to the recipe.

Hot Cross Buns

Serves 12

Ingredients

Dough

  • 300ml Milk
  • 50g Unsalted Butter
  • Orange Zest from 2 large oranges
  • 100g Soft Brown Sugar
  • 2 Cloves
  • 2 Cardamom Pods (bruised)
  • 500g Strong Bread Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 14g Instant Yeast
  • 75g Currants or Sultanas
  • 50g Mixed Peel
  • 1 Large Egg

Cross

  • 4 tablespoons Plain Flour
  • 2 tablespoons Cold Water
  • 1 tablespoon Oil

Glaze

  • 2 tablespoons Water
  • 2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Apricot Jam

Directions

1. Heat the milk with the butter, orange zest, brown sugar, cardamom and clove until the butter has melted and the sugar has fully dissolved
2. Turn off the heat and allow to cool a little and infuse
3. While the milk cooks, sift together the flour, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl
4. Once the milk has reached body temperature, fish out the clove and cardamom pods, and add the yeast. Leave for a few minutes to bloom and go frothy
5. Beat the egg and add to the dry ingredients along with the milk mixture, then mix together until you form a dough
6. Turn out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead the stucky dough for about 8-10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic
7. Kneed in the dried fruit
8. Place in a clean lightly oiled bowl, and cover with a damp tea-towel, then leave to rise for about 1½-2 hours or until it has doubled in size
9. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for a further minute or two to knock out any air
10. Divide the mixture into 12 pieces and shape into round buns
11. Place on a lined/greased baking tray. Cover and allow to rise again for another 45 mins-1 hour until doubled in size
12. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F
13. To make the cross, make a paste from the flour, water and oil. Spoon into a small piping bag, snip a little off the end, then pipe a cross on the top of each bun
14. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
15. While the buns are baking, make the glaze by melting the sugar and jam in the water over a gentle heat.
16. Brush the buns with the glaze as soon as they come out of the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool

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