I love Easter. Not just for the terrible bad for you amounts of chocolate to be eaten, but also because it's the time of year that you can finally get hot cross buns in the shops.
The problem is, I don't like raisins, or sultanas, and therefore most hot cross buns just aren't going to be eaten by me.
If I look hard enough, I can find some fruitless ones on the shelves, but judging by how quickly they get bought, I'm going to guess I'm not the only one that likes them without the fruit.
With the weather the way it has been in the lead up to Easter, my favourite thing to do is bake. I don't have to go out in the rain, and the house gets warmer from the oven being on. So, I decided to use the bad weather as an opportunity to make some of my own fruitless hot cross buns.
- 550g flour
- 55g sugar
- 7g dried yeast
- 300 ml milk
- 60g melted butter
- 1 egg (whisked)
- 3 teaspoons mixed spice
- 65g flour
- 80ml water
- 30g caster sugar
-
80ml
water
Directions
- Mix warm milk, yeast and 15g of the sugar in a jug and set aside for 10 minutes to allow to get frothy.
- Add the butter and beaten egg to the milk mixture and whisk together. Combine flour, mixed spice, salt and the remaining 40g of sugar into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
- Kneed mixture on a lightly floured surface for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl. Cover and set aside until dough doubles in size.
- Preheat oven to 180c and line a pan with baking paper.
- Once dough has risen, knead for another 2 minutes. Divide into 16 even pieces and shape into balls and place them on the pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes until the balls have risen a further 2cm.
- For the cross piping, add the flour and water together and mix until you form a smooth paste. Place mixture in piping bag and pipe an on-going line down the centre of the rows, both ways to form your crosses.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown, checking at 20 minutes.
- For the sugar glaze, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and boil for a few minutes. until it forms a light syrup. Once ready, brush the glaze over the top of the buns.
0 comments