I always know it’s nearly time for Matt’s Birthday when hot cross buns appear in the shops, they’re my favourite Easter food. I have them toasted and slathered with butter, perfect with a cup of tea.
We tend to buy quite a few packs during the Easter period but I’ve never had a go at making any. It was time to change that when Bakingmad.com put me up to an Easter themed challenge. The following recipe is taken from their website here.
You’ll need:
250 grams Very Strong White Bread Flour
250 grams Very Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour
1 sachet Easy Bake Yeast
1 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Salt
50 grams Golden Caster Sugar
250 ml Milk
1 Egg
50 grams Butter
100 grams Raisins, sultanas or currants
Zest of 1 Orange
50 grams shortcrust pastry
Egg wash to finish
Put the flour, sugar, spice, yeast and salt into a bowl. Stir in the milk, butter and egg to form a soft dough. Mix in the dried fruits of your choice along with the zest of the orange.
Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
Place in a clean bowl and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove. The dough will double in size, this can take up to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape then place on a lightly floured baking tray.
Brush with egg wash and finish the buns with a cross made from the shortcrust pastry. Glaze once more and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Mine came out a little more “rustic” than I’d have liked but there are lessons to be learnt for next time. I’d definitely bake these little beauties again for their flavour alone. It looks like Baking Mad were happy with my efforts at least – this box of goodies arrived for me:
They have lots of other ideas for baking this Easter including some awesome Easter egg recipes that I wasn’t brave enough to try. What will you be making?
Caitlin says
Those look delicious!
Adventures in Procrastination