Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha’ penny,
Two ha’ penny,
Hot Cross Buns!

Its only 6 weeks until Easter, 4 weeks until the clocks change, the sun has been shining, the birds singing and this can only mean one thing… Spring is on its way.

I need to get organised, I had planned to do some lovely recipes for Mother’s Day, but time is flying, I have been so busy and I am rapidly running out of time. Hopefully I will be able to still bring you some ideas for Mother’s Day, but I will definitely be trying to bring you a few lovely Easter ideas, my first offering being hot cross buns.

They are a little time consuming to make, but like many yeast recipes, it is more than worth it, the flavour, texture, taste, blows the shop brought ones out of the water, also you can not beat the aroma that fills the house.

They are perfect for afternoon tea, great for breakfast toasted with jam and served with an espresso or just as a quick snack to have with a cuppa, traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, I think they are perfect for anytime.

Buon appetito

Make 16

For the dough
680g strong white flour, plus extra to dust
14g/2 sachets fast-action dried yeast (or you can use 30g fresh yeast if you have it)
10g sea salt
100g golden caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, really soft
15g mixed spice
175ml whole milk, tepid
175ml water, tepid
1 medium egg
80g currants
80g sultanas
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
(You don’t have to just use currants & sultana’s, some recipes add candied peel, you could add cherries which I did, dried cranberries, anything that takes you fancy really, just stick to a total of 160g)

For the cross
100g strong white flour
Pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar
25g of melted butter
125ml water

For the bun wash
75ml boiling water
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Pinch of mixed spice

Put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, butter, mixed spice, milk, sugar, water and egg into a big mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon stir to form a loose dough – you may need 1 – 2 more tablespoons of water if it looks dry, but I found that it was just fine. Turn the loose dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a full 15 minutes until smooth, or if you prefer, you can do it all in the mixer with the dough hook for 10 minutes.

Gently work in the dried fruit and zest. Put the dough back into a big mixing bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30- 45 minutes until it has doubled in size.

Line a high-sided baking tray with baking paper. Use a scraper (or your hands if you don’t have one) to turn the dough out of the bowl, then cut it in half, still using the scraper or a sharp large knife. Divide each piece in half, then repeat until you have 16 roughly equal pieces. I rather sadly weighed mine out, but you really do not have to do this, I am just a little sad! In the palm of your hand, make the pieces firmly round so they will stand up on your baking tray. Line them up 4 by 4 with a finger’s space between each bun.

Cover the tin and leave in a warm place for 30 – 50 minutes, again until doubled in size. I always tend to leave them for the longer time, it means that I can get on with tother things and also gives the dough to rise properly.

Preheat the oven to 210C/fan 190C/gas 6 1/2

In a medium size bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the cross mix, the gradually whisk int he butter and water until you have a smooth batter. Pour into a piping bag with a small nozzle, about a 1/2 cm one. Cross the buns by piping a lattice across the length and width of the tin. The first time I baked these, I made the batter a little to thick and crossed each bun individually, you live & learn!

Bake for 15 minutes until golden.

Meanwhile, make the bun wash by boiling the water with the sugar and mixed spice for 30 seconds, then set aside.

When the buns are ready, remove them from the oven and brush them with the spicy bun wash.

Serve warm from the oven with lashings of butter, heaven.

They were still lovely and fresh the next day, but they are not the same as straight from the oven, just lightly toast them and they will be just perfect.

You can also freeze the finished buns, just wrap well in clingfilm, then foil. They will keep up to 1 month. When you need them, just defrost them in a preheated oven for 15 minutes and serve warm. Great if you want to get a head of the Easter celebrations, or just want something yummy to serve unexpected guests.