Apparently hot cross buns are supposed to be eaten on good Friday (the end of lent). I’m clearly a rebel because I made them on the Wednesday night and took them to work on the Thursday. This was my first ever attempt at hot cross buns and I think they look pretty good considering, I combined a couple of recipes I found online to produce my very own version.

Hot cross buns

2016-03-29 15:27:37

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Ingredients

1. 500g strong white bread flour
2. 7g dried yeast
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 75g castor sugar
5. 1 egg (beaten)
6. 300ml whole milk
7. 50g unsalted butter (softened)
8. 75g sultanas
9. 50g mixed peel
10. zest of 1 orange
11. zest of 1 lemon
12. 1 pink lady apple (peeled, cored and chopped)
13. 1 tsp cinnamon
14. 1 tsp mixed spice
15. 4 tablespoons plain flour and a little water
16. Apricot jam to glaze

For the first prove

1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl (place the salt on the opposite side of the bowl to the yeast)
2. Stir together the dry ingredients
3. Warm the milk for one minute in a microwave
4. Add the milk and beaten egg to the dry ingredients and stir
5. Add the softened butter and knead (either use a free standing mixer with a dough hook or by hand) until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes.)
6. Once the dough is smooth and elastic cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to prove for at least an hour until doubled in size.

For the second prove

1. in a separate bowl mix together the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, lemon zest, apple, cinnamon and mixed spice
2. Knock back the dough and then gradually knead in the fruit, adding a little more flour as required to allow for the moisture in the apple
3. Split the dough into about 16 buns and place on a buttered and floured baking tray
4. Pre-heat the oven to 220c (200c fan)
5. Cover with a tea towel / cling film and leave to prove for at least 30 minutes until doubled in size.
6. Mix the plain flour and water to a thick paste and place in a piping bag or freezer bag
7. Cut the point / corner off the bag and pipe a cross onto the top of each bun
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and hollow sounding.
9. Remove the buns and place on a cooling rack
10. Warm a little apricot jam and pass through a sieve to remove any lumps
11. Brush the apricot jam onto the buns while still warm then leave to cool

Mummy makes cakes http://jaisee.com/mummymakescakes/