Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter! This has been one of the warmest weekends on record, with temperatures pushing 30 degrees here in the nation's capital. Today was a bit cooler, and tomorrow's calling for rain, but still, we're pretty lucky -- especially those of us fortunate enough to get a four-day weekend.

As much as I'm enjoying the nice weather, I think the plants outside are liking it more. I can practically see the leaves growing on my trees, and there are new snowdrops appearing almost by the minute.

So, what, you might ask, was I doing inside baking on such a gorgeous day?

Well, let me remind you that it was a bit cooler today, and I was up early, the buns don't take much time to make -- and hey, what's Easter without Hot Cross Buns anyway?

Now, I haven't always been a fan of these springtime buns. I think the dislike stems back to childhood, when I can remember being in Toronto and getting some buns from a bakery, biting into one, and finding a toothpick baked inside, which then got lodged into the roof of my mouth. Ouch, right? Between that scarring experience and years of medicore store-bought buns, it took a while to rekindle an affection for Hot Cross Bun.

But then I stumbled across the yummy and easy recipe from Donna Hay. Her version creates fragrant, soft buns that aren't too sweet and are sastifying to put together.

Here's how they start....

Mixing up the flour and spices. The recipe calls for mixed spice, so I threw in some nutmeg (1tsp), ground ginger, allspice, ground cardamon and a dask of ground cloves. This recipe really is a good excuse to delve into your spice rack and get creative.

Next comes the dried fruit. The recipe calls for sultanas and candied peel, the latter of which I didn't have. I used raisins, currants and some chopped dried apricot.

Here's the dough after kneading, all oiled up and ready for a rest.


And here it is about an hour later. I let it rise inside the microwave, into which I placed a mug of water, heated on high for one minute. With the door closed, it's a veritable steam bath for the mound of dough!

And here are the finished beauties, fresh out of the oven and drenched in glaze. I was a bit heavy handed with the old crosses, but I figure that makes me extra religious, right?

And here's the one I took from the batch. Can you see the juicy rasins and delicately spiced texture? How about the butter ever so slightly melting into the warmth? Apologies for the blurry photo, but I was in too much of a hurry to devour this.

Hot Cross Buns
From Modern Classics 2 by Donna Hay

2 tablespoons dried yeast*
¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar
1½ cups (375ml) warm milk
4¼ cups (635g) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
50g butter, melted
1 egg
¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar, extra
1½ cups (240g) sultanas
⅓ cup (55g) candied mixed peel, optional

Crosses
½ cup (75g) plain (all-purpose) flour
⅓ cup (80ml) water

Glaze
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon powdered gelatine
¼ cup (60ml) water
*this isn't the same recipe as in the book, but as the book makes too much glaze, I'd suggest using this one instead. I didn't have any powdered gelatine, so I used a leaf,

Combine the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.

Combine the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, butter, egg, extra sugar, sultanas, mixed peel and yeast mixture in a large bowl. Mix with a butter knife until a sticky dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5–10 minutes or until it feels smooth and elastic when pressed. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place for 30–40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly knead the dough again, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place in a 23cm-square cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 25–30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. To make the crosses, combine the flour and water to make a smooth paste. Place in a piping bag** and pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until well browned and springy to touch.

To make the glaze, combine the sugar, gelatine and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir for 2 minutes or until dissolved. Brush warm buns with the glaze and serve with butter. Makes 12.

* You will need this amount of yeast because of the amount of sugar in the recipe.
** To make a piping bag, fill a ziplock bag with the cross mixture and snip off one corner.