Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons!
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!
I baked this recipe of hot cross buns quite a while ago, back in April this year while I was having my Good Friday rest at home. Have been wanting to try it out but have not had the time to do so as the recipe requires quite an amount of effort to prepare and proof and bake. Looking back at the efforts and pictures and recipe now, it was all worth the while!
Hot cross buns make use of a spiced recipe to give it its very unique dough texture and taste. The spices are supposed to represent the spices that were used to embalm Jesus at his burial; the cross itself very literally represents his cruxifixion. I ain’t a religious person in any way, but I do find it interesting to try out recipes that have interesting stories behind them. If not for this recipe, I would never have considered much about the cross on top of the buns and the real reason how this bun recipe really came about!
Ingredients:
- Bread flour: 400g, strong white (high protein)
- Plain flour: 100g + 100g
- Milk powder: 10g + 10g
- Bread improver (optional): 8g
- Instant dry yeast: 15g
- Ground cinnamon: 5g
- Ground ginger: 3g
- Ground nutmeg: 1g
- Sugar: 55g
- Salt: 5g + a pinch
- Egg: 1/2, small + 1, beaten
- Cold water: 295g + 100g
- Unsalted butter: 55g, softened, at room temperature
- Raisin: 175g
- Baking powder: 1/4 tsp
- Shortening: 20g
- Glaze: 1 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp butter (microwave 20sec to combine)
Method:
- With a dough hook, blend together bread flour, 100g plain flour, 10g milk powder, bread improver, instant dry yeast, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, sugar and 5g salt at low speed for 1min.
- Add in 1/2 small egg and 295g cold water. Blend on low for 1min, then increase to medium speed and blend for 5min.
- Add in unsalted butter. Continue blending on medium speed for 7 – 10min.
- Add in raisins. Continue blending on low speed for 1min.
- Round up with hands on floured surface. Return to mixing bowl. Proof in warm space for 1hr.
- Divide into 80g pieces (about 14 pieces) and round up into balls. Rest 10min.
- Place balls into greased trays. Proof 1hr in a warm space.
- Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius.
- Brush beaten egg over buns.
- Whisk together 100g plain flour, 10g milk powder, baking powder, shortening, a pinch of salt and 100g cold water, adding water gradually.
- Place flour mixture into piping bag. Pipe a ‘cross’ over the buns.
- Bake 15 – 20mins till golden brown.
- Remove from oven and glaze with honey mixture immediately.
- Leave to cool for 5min before serving.
Serving:
14 buns
