Hot Cross Buns

Q: What do you get if you pour hot water down a rabbit hole?
A: Hot cross bunnies!

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

As Easter is now fast approaching I thought I would share with you the recipe for one my favourite Easter treats, hot cross buns.

So what are hot cross buns? They are spicy, fruity bread buns which are made and sold for Easter. They have a cross marked on top, usually made of flour dough but sometimes icing or pastry is used. Traditionally they were made for Good Friday but these days they are available throughout Easter, some supermarkets have even started selling them year round.Hot cross buns are fantastic toasted, spread with melting butter they are just sublime, in fact I wouldn't eat them any other way.

Of course you can just buy them from any good bakery and I'm sure they would be fine but there's something special about making them yourself, homemade just tastes that bit better. Making your own also means you're free to tinker with the recipe, you can choose your favourite fruits and spices, and you get them at their freshest, straight from the oven. I've adapted my recipe from this one, it's a good recipe, the buns were spicy, fruity and delicious!

They do take a lot longer to rise than the original recipe stated, I left mine for a good 90 minutes before baking. You may also need to add a little more flour than is listed, your looking for a dough that is slightly sticky but you should be able to handle it without it clinging to your hands.

Hot cross buns recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Caster sugar
• 1 sachet (7g) of easy blend yeast
• 1 lb plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 oz Raisins, sultanas or other dried fruit
• The finely grated zest of an orange
• 2 oz mixed peel
• 4 fl. oz. Water
• 4 fl. oz milk
• 2 oz melted butter
• 1 beaten egg

For the Cross (optional)
Mix these together to form the paste that is piped into the buns

• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons water

Method:

• In a large bowl add the sugar, yeast, flour, salt and spices. Mix well
• Add the dried fruit, zest and peel to the bowl and mix
• Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the water, milk, butter and egg, bring the mixture together with your hands to form a dough. If it feels too sticky add more flour now.
• Knead the dough on a hard surface for 10 minutes until it fells smooth and elastic.
• Put the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover, leave to rise until it has doubled in size, up to 2 hours.
• Knock the dough back until it is the original size and split into 12 pieces.
• Roll the pieces into buns and place on an oiled baking tray, cover and leave to rise for around 90 minutes or until they have doubled in size.
• To make the cross mix the flour sugar and water together in a bowl, put the mixture into a small plastic bag. Snip the corner off the bag and pipe the mixture in a cross shape onto the buns.
• Bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 7/220c/425f for 15-20 minutes.
• To glaze warm some honey or golden syrup and brush over you buns with a pastry brush