Hot Cross Buns

By krystallondon

So if you're already suffering from some serious Hot Cross Bun withdrawal symptoms, why not try making these when you've got a spare hour or two? Not only are they deceptively easy to make, but they also knock the socks off those you can buy in the supermarket. The secret here is to paint them in a ginger sugar glaze when they're still warm. This will not only make them sticky and sweet, but will also compliment the cinnamon and mixed spice in the dough and provide them a wonderful rich and heady flavour. They also go wonderfully with a nice cup of Yorkshire Tea!

Ingredients

• For the glaze:
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 level tablespoon dried yeast (make sure it's not easy blend yeast though, as that will make the dough too sticky. I used Allinson's Dried Active Yeast for mine, and they turned out perfectly. You should be able to buy this from most major supermarkets).
• 450 g plain flour
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 1 rounded teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
• 75 g raisins
• 50 g cut mixed peel
• 55 ml warmed milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 50 g butter, melted
• 2 level tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 inches of fresh ginger, cut into thin slices

Preparation

Step 1

First stir the teaspoon of caster sugar into 150 ml of tepid (which means it doesn't scald your hand when you plunge it into it) water, then sprinkle in the dried yeast and leave it until a good frothy 'beer' head forms.

Meanwhile sift the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a mixing bowl and add the remaining 50g of sugar, the raisins and mixed peel. Then make a well in the centre, pour in the yeast mixture plus 40 ml of warm (but not boiling!) milk, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Now mix it to a dough, starting with a wooden spoon and finishing with your hands (don't be afraid to add more milk to the dough if it needs it).

Once the dough has started to come together, pop it onto a clean surface and knead it until it feels smooth and elastic – which should take roughly about 6 minutes. Now pop it back into the bowl, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, and leave it in a warm place to rise – it will take about an hour to double its original size. Then turn it out and knead it again, back down to its original size.

Divide the mixture into 12 round portions, arrange them on the greased baking sheet (allowing plenty of room for expansion), and make a deep cross on each one with a sharp knife. Leave them to rise once more, covering again with the damp tea towel, for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C).

Before you put the buns in the oven, lightly brush them with some beaten egg mixture to make sure that they turn a lovely golden colour whilst they're baking. They should take around 15 minutes to cook. Whilst they're in the oven, add the sugar and rounds of ginger to four tablespoons of water. Simmer the mixture over a gentle heat and brush the buns with this glaze as soon as they come out of the oven, to make them nice and sticky.

If you want to add crosses to your handiwork, you can do so with strips of marizpan, or by piping icing onto the buns. To make the icing, just add an egg white and a few splashes of milk to some powdered sugar and mix it all together until it becomes thick and gloopy. Then, paint your cross you scored on the bun prior to it going into the oven.

Voila! Delicious Hot Cross Buns! Try not to eat them all at once though (If only because you might end up feeling a bit sick).