Hot Cross Yum!

Mr Crimmins loves his hot cross buns, so coming up to Good Friday I thought I'd try my hand at making my own this year.  I was quite proud of my efforts, just quietly, but decided I might need a bit more practice at kneading to get them perfect next year.

Hot Cross Buns

350g high grade white flour

100g wholemeal flour

50 g caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 x 8g sachet of instant yeast

50g butter, diced

125g mixed dried fruit 

1 tablespoon candied peel

200mL lukewarm milk

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

 Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 'Rub in' the diced butter - I used a nifty wee 'pastry blender' that I was given for Christmas which worked wonders! Work it in until the mixture resembles fine crumbs, then stir in the dried fruit.
Bring the milk up to temperature, and to check if its lukewarm, dip your pinky finger in - you shouldn't be able to detect if its hot or cold.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and pour in the milk and eggs. With your hand, or I used a large spoon, carefully draw the dry mixture into the wet ingredients to form a dough. You can also use an electric mixer with dough hooks.


Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is silky smooth and very elastic. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place until it is doubled in size. This takes about an hour.





After an hour, punch down the dough, and split into 12 portions. Shape them into balls and place on a baking tray. If you want them to have soft sides, place them close together on the tray so they join together as they bake.  Cover the tray and place in warm spot, and leave the buns to rise again until they are double in size. This takes about 45 minutes.


Preheat the oven to 200°C. To make the cross on top, mix into paste, 4 Tbsp flour with 2 Tbsp water, and pipe across the top.  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. To check if ready, tap on the top - they should sound hollow.  While they're baking, make the glaze with 2 Tbsp milk and 1 Tbsp caster sugar - heat together in the microwave for a few seconds so the sugar dissolves.

Brush the glaze over as soon as the buns come out of the oven. Then cool on a wire rack, or even better - eat them hot, smothered in butter, with a well deserved cup of tea.