I have had one complaint with the hot cross buns I have found here in the states... they all have crosses made out of icing. The only way to eat a hot cross bun in my opinion is toasted and buttered, throw a slice of english cheddar on there and and it's even better, but toasted is a must, and that's why I have issues with the icing crosses. So I was very excited to see that Corina's recipe had the crosses made the traditional way with flour and water and baked onto the bun.
After looking at the recipe I realised that one thing missing that I know is in English buns was mixed peel. Now I know I am not going to find that here in Houston, and I also couldn't find currants, so I had to make do with lemon and orange zest and raisins. I was definitely concerned that the substitutions would affect the flavour, but as soon as I started kneading the dough I could smell that familiar hot cross bun smell. I knew they would be good, and I have definitely been enjoying my first batch of toasted Emglish hot cross buns in 13 years!
500g plain flour
300ml whole milk
75g sugar
7g yeast
50g butter
1 egg beaten
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
150g sultanas/raisins
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
apricot jam for glazing
Crosses:
2 tbsp flour
Water
Bring the milk to a boil, remove from heat and leave until just warm. Add the yeast and sugar.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, butter and egg. Slowly add the milk mixture until a soft dough forms.
Add the sultanas/raisins, orange and lemon zests and cinnamon.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and leave to rise for one hour.
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back, tip out onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces, roll each onto a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave to rise for 1 more hour.
Heat the oven to 350.
To make the crosses mix the flour with enough water to make a thick paste, pipe the crosses onto the buns and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Melt some apricot jam and once the buns come out of the oven, glaze them with the warm jam.
12 comments:
Great recipe, I am anxious to try it!
Hi Sarah,
Your Hot Cross Buns look great,I love making them. Hope you have a good week, its always fun cooking with you in the SRC!
Miz Helen
I never had Hot Cross Buns before but totally am going to make some for Easter now that I'm living in London! Great SRC choice, stopping by from group B..
xoxo from London
So glad you liked these. I'll have to make them again. I always have to miss out the mixed peel from any recipes I make as my husband hates it!
I have not made hot cross buns in such a long time. They look great!!
I have never heard of the cross being made by flour. Being raised here, as you noticed, we always use icing. Thanks for the culture lesson....it is one of my favorite parts of sharing recipes with others.
I only make hot cross buns once a year and I do love them...and have to admit, I love the icing on them! haha I'll have to give this recipe a chance for a nice change!
I love that the cross is not icing! Thanks for sharing that.
Yum! Those sound amazing!! Pinning for a try soon.
I learned something! I didn't realize the crosses weren't supposed to be made of icing, which actually makes me happy as in the ones I've tried I haven't cared for the icing. These look wonderful!
These are beautiful. I always wondered why the buns usually had icing crosses--I though they were supposed to be more savory than something that called for icing. Thanks for the education!
These look amazing! I used to love hot cross buns when I lived in England, maybe I'll try making some this Easter. These are so beautifully baked and look delicious!
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