Hot Cross Buns

My younger son Hansel has started going to formal school.  Where he was taught the famous rhyme “Hot Cross Buns, One a Penny, Two a Penny, Hot Cross Buns”.  After this, the demand was to eat hot cross buns. But this is something which you can’t get it in the market.  So, I promised him this Good Friday I will bake for him Hot Cross buns.  And I kept my promise. 

The recipe is the adaptation from a recipe in BBC good food by James Martin. I have not done any variation to the original recipe.

So do try and enjoy.  And don’t forget to leave back your feedback.

Ingredients

For the dough

Maida – 450gm

Yeast – 7gms

Caster sugar – 50gm

Warm milk – 150ml

Warm water – 50 ml

Egg – 1

Salted Butter – 50gm, melted

Butter or oil for greasing

Cinnamon powder – 1tsp

Nutmeg powder – ¼ tsp

Black current – 100gm

To decorate

Maida – 4 tbsp

Granulated sugar – 2 tbsp

Method

1.      In a large bowl mix flour, yeast, caster sugar cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and the black current.

2.      Mix well and make a well in the center.

3.      To this pour the warm milk, warm water, beaten egg and melted butter.

4.      Mix everything together to form dough. ( if the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water and if it is too wet add more flour).

5.      Transfer this dough into a floured kitchen platform and knead until the dough becomes smooth and springy.

6.      Transfer this dough to a clean lightly greased bowl and cover it with a plastic cling.

7.      Leave this in a warm place for about an hour. ( the dough would roughly rise to double it original size.

8.      Punch the raised dough in the center. Then knead it lightly.

9.      Now divide this dough into 8 equal portions.

10.  Shape each portion into a smooth round shape.

11.  Place this on a greased baking sheet, leaving space between each bun for it to rise.

12.  With a sharp knife mark a cross on the top of each bun.

13.  Cover it with a damp towel and leave in a warm place for about an hour. It will double in size.

14.  When the bun is ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to make a thick paste.

15.  Spoon into a piping bag and pipe a white bag into the crosses you cut earlier.

16.  Pre- heat the oven at 200 degree C.

17.  Bake for 15-20 min at the same temperature.

18.  When the buns are done, when it is still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp of water in a small pan to form a thick syrup.

19.  Then brush this syrup over the bun.