Most days I tend to feel like I deserve a little treat and nothing gives me greater joy than spending hours in the kitchen following work preparing something with care and attention and seeing and tasting the final product. Furthermore I do think it is important to mention here that I do enjoy sharing these treats among friends and colleagues in work and do not (always) sit at home eating them all to myself!
This evening I went with a traditional Easter treat, Hot Cross Buns. They are easily identified by their traditional white cross on top and beautiful sticky fruit glaze. These buns were traditionally eaten on Good Friday Morning and the cross was seen as a symbol of the crucifixion. Since there is only 3 school days left till the Easter Holidays I thought what better way to get in the mood!
They require a bit of time to prepare with three stages of proving the dough to let the yeast rise however I do believe similar to the Cinnamon Buns posted below they are very much worth the wait!
Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
-300ml full-fat milk
-50g butter
-500g strong flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-75g caster sugar
-1 tbsp of sunflower oil
-7g fast action yeast
-1 egg
-75g sultanas
-50g mixed peel
-zest of 1 orange
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the cross:
- 75g plain flour
10 tablespoons of water
For the glaze:
-juice of the orange
-75g caster sugar
Method:
1. Begin by heating the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter and stir to mix. Leave to cool.
2. Next put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.
3. On a lightly floured table knead the dough for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for up to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Once doubled in size, add in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest and cinnamon. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Again Leave to rise for up to an hour until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.
5. Divide the dough into 15 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with greaseproof paper, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover again with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for a final 1 hour.
6. Finally preheat the oven to 220C. Mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross – add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown. While the buns are in the oven heat the orange juice and sugar in a pot until sugar has dissolved and heated.
7. Once the buns are out of the oven brush the orange syrup over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.
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