Hot Cross Buns
Serves 16 people
120mins Prep
30mins Cook
This recipe involves 1hr 20 min standing (rising) time for the dough. If your house is a bit on the cool side when you are baking buns, you will find warm places are in the laundry if the dryer is on, on top of the oven if you are baking something else or sit the bowl/tin on a heated wheat bag.
Will keep in an airtight container for a few days; reheat in the oven for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Hot Cross Buns
- 1 Tbsp Dried yeast
- 1/4 cup Caster sugar
- ml, warm Milk
- 3 cups High grade flour
- 3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
- 60 g All Spice
- g, chopped Butter
- 1/2 cup Currants
- 1/2 cup Sultanas
- ml, warm ml Water
- lightly beaten Egg
- 1 Tbsp Barker's NZ Grapefruit & Orange Marmalade
Flour Paste
- 1/4 cup Plain flour
- 1 Tbsp Caster sugar
- 80 ml Water
To serve
Method
- Place yeast, sugar and milk in a small bowl, whisk until yeast dissolves. Cover with plastic wrap, stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.
- Sift flour, cinnamon and all spice into a large bowl and rub in butter. Stir in yeast mixture, currants, sultanas, egg and water. Bring together with your hands or a spoon, then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth, then place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until mixture has doubled in size.
- Grease a deep 23cm square tin with butter. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl, then punch the dough to knock it back. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for a minute. Divide dough into 16 pieces, form into balls and place in the tin. Cover, and stand again in a warm place for 20 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- To prepare flour paste, combine flour and sugar in a bowl; gradually blend in enough water to form a thick smooth paste. Spoon paste into a piping bag with a small plain tube or use a resealable plastic bag and cut off a tiny corner. Pipe crosses onto buns—four long lines vertically and then horizontally across each row of buns.
- Bake for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 160°C for about 20 minutes.
- Turn onto a wire rack and brush with warm orange spread (or not if you don’t like sticky buns).
- Serve as soon as they are cold enough to touch, plain or with butter and Seville Orange spreadable fruit.
