Best Ever Hot Cross Buns
These really are the perfect hot crossies! They’re soft and fluffy, and nothing beats the scent of freshly baked buns straight out of the oven with butter and honey. I love traditions, especially when it comes to food, cooking, celebrations and special holidays. It’s an opportunity for gathering, connection and memory making. So for me, these hot cross buns are an Easter staple and I think that once you try these, they might be yours too.
It’s a delightfully simple and delicious recipe that really does work! You just need around 3 hours of home time for the two rises and baking. You’re not working on them during this whole time of course, so an ideal time to make them is on one of those days when you’re pottering around, my perfect day really!
INGREDIENTS:
75g butter
300ml milk
690g flour (4 1/2 cups plus 4 Tbs)
14g active dried yeast
100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground all spice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
60g (4 Tbs honey)
1 cup sultanas
1 green apple, diced
Zest of 1 orange
Crosses:
75g flour and 75ml water
Extra honey for glazing
METHOD:
Firstly, melt your butter in a small saucepan, then add the milk and heat until warm (not hot!). Set aside.
Place the flour, yeast, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and all spice in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, and mix on low until these dry ingredients are combined. Now add your wet ingredients - the warmed butter and milk, lightly beaten eggs, honey, sultanas, apple and orange zest. Mix on low to combine all ingredients and when the flour is incorporated turn it up to medium speed and mix for a few minutes until it forms a sticky dough. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer, cover with cling wrap or a tea towel and set aside somewhere warm and draught-free to rise until double in size. This can take up to 90minutes.
When doubled in size, punch the dough to let the air out. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Dust a work surface with flour, remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a log. Using a knife or pastry cutter, divide the dough into 12 or 24 pieces by slicing the dough log. Gently shape each piece into a ball, and place into the baking tray. If the dough is sticky, add a little flour from your work surface to make it easier to shape but not too much! We want soft buns!
Once all buns are on the tray, cover (but don’t wrap) with cling film or a tea towel and once again place in a warm place to rise for about an hour. Around 40 minutes into this second rise, preheat the oven 180 degrees. When buns have risen, mix the cross ingredients - flour and water - in a bowl until it has a glue-like consistency and scoop into a piping bag. Place the nozzle close to the buns and pipe the crosses onto them.
When ready, place the buns into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Once out of the oven, brush the warm buns with honey using a pastry brush. Enjoy with lashings of butter and extra honey if you wish.
Notes:
Make sure your yeast isn’t out of date. This can be the reason for many a baking fail!