Hop straight into Easter by baking these delicious Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
80g caster sugar
2 heaped tsp mixed spice powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
10g kosher salt
10g fast-action dried yeast
40g stork with butter
300ml whole milk
1 large free-range egg, beaten
210g sultanas
50g finely chopped mixed candied peel
sunflower oil, for greasing
For the Topping:
75g plain flour
2 tbsp golden syrup, for glazing
Method:
1. Place the flour, sugar, spices and lemon zest into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Then add the salt and yeast, placing them on opposite sides of the bowl.
Melt the butter in a pan and warm the milk in a separate pan. Add the butter and half the tepid milk to the dry ingredients.
2. Add the egg, now using your hands bring the mixture together, incorporating the flour from the edges of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining milk, to form a soft dough (you may not need all of the milk).
3. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Next Knead by hand incorporating the sultanas and mixed peel into the dough. Lightly knead for 10 minutes until silky and elastic and forming a smooth ball. The kneading can also be done in a stand mixer with a dough hook.
4. Now oil a bowl and place the dough in, cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
5. When doubled in size, turn the dough out on to a floured surface and divide into 12 even balls. Line 2 baking trays with paper and place the balls on the tray, placing them fairly close together and flattening them slightly.
6. Slip each baking tray into a large clean polythene zip bag, making sure the bag doesn’t touch the buns. Leave for 40-60 minutes until the buns have doubled in size.
7. Now Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
8. For the topping, add the flour to a bowl with 100mls of room temperature water. Mix together to make a paste and spoon into an icing bag.
9. When the buns have risen remove the polythene bags and pipe a cross on each bun.
10. Bake for approx 20 minutes until pale golden-brown, turning the baking trays round halfway through if necessary.
11. Then melt the golden syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm, brush the buns with a little syrup to give a nice shine, before setting aside to cool on a wire rack.
I like to serve mine toasted with good quality Cornish Farm Butter, ansome job!
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