Prep time: 45 minutes
Rest time: 2 hours maximum
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
375 ml (1.5 cups) whole milk, warmed
9 g (1 tbsp) dry active yeast110 g (1/2 cup) sugar
640 g (4.25 cups) flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 oranges worth of zest
50 g (3.5 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
210 g (1.5 cups) sultanas/raisins
Crosses:
75 g (1/2 cup) white flour
5 tbsp water
Glaze:
1 tbsp apricot jam
2 tsp water
Happy Easter! And New Years, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick’s Day… The Aussie hot cross buns hit store shelves on Boxing Day and are enjoyed through Easter. I’ll admit the store-bought ones are nice. However, can homemade bread be beat? There’s 'nice' and then there’s 'delightful'. And sometimes motivation or time keeps us at nice—and that’s okay too! I surely bought some this year, shamelessly. Okay, maybe a little bit shamefully. But I was already thrilled with having a batch under my belt this season.
Nothing says autumn and winter like the warmth of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. These three musketeers hide in plain sight whilst the sultanas lure in the crowd and the orange tartness balances the moodiness of this Good Friday bread.
As with some of my other holiday recipes (Pan de Muerto and Passover Cake), I usually only make or eat these once a year during a brief period. Which, upon further investigation, on the all-knowing source Wikipedia, I am not acting too far from the oppressive English reign of the 1500s and 1600s. Cooking hot cross buns outside of burials or religious holidays resulted in ‘punishment’ whereby transgressors were required to give away the blasphemous buns to the poor—which is not so much a punishment as a redistribution of wealth. I’d like to think how similar laws today might help the poor. “One can only take a ride in their private jet twice a year. Punishment of further trips requires one to give away just as many trips to the public”. Or something like that. Not a bad idea if you ask me. It could use some refining, though.
Speaking of refining, this recipe has been tweaked to make beautiful crossed buns that are so hot, even Jesus would blush. These are best served sliced in half ‘hamburger bun’ directionally, toasted, and then slathered with butter on either side and eaten with a hot cup of tea. Mmmm… makes me already pine for next Easter.
Pro tip: when folding the dough into individual buns, spread out the dough and pinch together at the underside of the bun before setting it into the pan smooth-face-side up.
Ingredients:
375 ml (1.5 cups) whole milk, warmed
9 g (1 tbsp) dry active yeast110 g (1/2 cup) sugar
640 g (4.25 cups) flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 oranges worth of zest
50 g (3.5 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
210 g (1.5 cups) sultanas/raisins
Crosses:
75 g (1/2 cup) white flour
5 tbsp water
Glaze:
1 tbsp apricot jam
2 tsp water
Directions:
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, add the warmed milk (no hotter than 40 C / 104 F). Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until frothy (5 minutes). If the yeast is not foaming after a few minutes, mix in 1-2 tsp of the sugar.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (sugar, flour, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and salt) and then make a well in the centre.
3. Once the yeast is foamy, pour the yeast-milk mixture into the well along with the zest, melted butter, egg, and sultanas.
4. If using a stand mixer, use a dough hook for five minutes on speed 4. If kneading by hand, dust a clean bench top with flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough does not crack/break when stretched.
5. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with towel or cling wrap. Leave it in a warm place until dough doubles in size (30-90 minutes).
6. Meanwhile, generously line a 9x13 inch pan with baking paper allowing for overhang.
7. When the dough is doubled in size, remove the covering and punch the dough down once to deflate it.
8. On a floured surface, shape the dough into a log and cut into 12 equal portions.
9. Roll a dough portion into a ball and stretch one side of the dough ball by gathering the smooth-sided dough and pinching the dough on the other side to create a ball with a smooth top surface and a pinched under-surface.
10. Place the dough ball smooth-side-up on the 9x13 inch pan. Repeat step 9 for remaining dough portions.
11. Cover the pan of bun dough again and place in a warm place until dough rises about 75% of its size (30-45 minutes). Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
12. Meanwhile, prepare the crosses by mixing the flour and water to create a thick yet runny paste.
13. Use or create a piping bag from a ziploc bag by snipping a small opening. Fill the piping bag with the flour paste and slowly pipe a straight line across the centre of the dough buns from one side of the pan to the other. Repeat this process until 12 lines cross all buns (see top image for cross directions).
14. Bake the buns until they are golden brown (22 minutes).
15. Use the edges of the excess baking paper to lift the buns out of the pan and place on a wire cooling rack.
16. When hot cross buns are still warm, microwave the jam and water for 30 seconds, mix together and then brush on top of the buns.
17. Allow buns to cool before serving. Serve toasted or fresh with salted butter.
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