Hot Cross Buns

Finally I've got round to posting this!
And yeah, I know it's a couple of weeks late
But better late than never, right?

I received Paul Hollywood's 'How to Bake' book for Christmas and I have been dying to make the Hot Cross Buns Recipe since I got it, and with it being Easter, there was no better time to have a go!

For the buns:

300ml full-fat milk , plus 2 tbsp more

50g butter
500g strong bread flour
1 tsp salt
75g caster sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
7g sachet fast-action or easy-blend yeast
1 egg , beaten
75g sultanas
50g mixed peel
zest 1 orange
1 apple , peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon

 For the Cross:

75g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

 

For the Glaze:

 

3 tbsp apricot jam

 

Method

Bring the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter. Then put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl- make sure that the yeast and salt are put at different sides of the bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg.

 

Then it's time to get messy and get your hands in there!! 

 

 

Mix everything together until you get something that looks a little like this....

Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heal of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. You'll need to repeat this for about 5 mins until the dough is smooth and elastic.

 

 

 

When it's smooth, put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towle and leave to rise in a warm place for between 1-3 hours but no longer or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.

Now the tricky bit, mixing the fruit into the dough...!

Tip in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple and cinnamon onto the worksurface and knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed.

Leave to rise for another hour again in the bowl.

Once the dough has risen divide it into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface.

This might get a liiiiiiittle messy...

Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Pop in a plastic bad or wrap in oiled cling film and set aside to prove for 1 hr more.

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Whilst the buns are proving, mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross - add the water 1 tbsp at a time, as you may not need it all.

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.

Once thy're out of the oven, gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam and buns are still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

 And Voila!

They may not be completely perfect- but they were certainly worth the effort.
I found the piping element the most difficult and this was mostly due to the fact that I didn't have a small enough nozzle which meant the paste mixture practically did whatever it wanted!

I highly recommend making these and although they do take up a fair bit of time, they are completely worth it!
Who cares if it's not easter?!