Easter baking always includes hot cross buns. They are eaten traditionally on Good Friday, warm with a little butter.
Hot Cross Buns are marked with a cross and were eaten by the Saxons to honor their goddess Eostre - the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's quarters. To Christians, the cross symbolizes the crucifixion.
They take a while to make as they are a bread-like dough using yeast as the raising agent so you need to allow time for the rising as you can see in this Hot Cross Bun Recipe. My tip - make a large batch and after baking keep some back to eat warm with lots of butter and freeze the rest.
Prep Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 7½fl oz/225ml warm water
- ½ oz/ 15g fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2oz/55g strong white bread flour
- FOR THE DOUGH
- 1lb/ 450g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 3oz/ 85g butter , cubed
- 3oz/ 85g sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6oz/ 175g mixed dried fruit
- 2 tbsp all purpose/plain flour
- Oil, for greasing
- 1 tbsp warmed apricot jam
Preparation:
- Make the yeast starter for the dough by mixing the beaten egg with the warm water. Crumble the yeast and add to the water and egg, sugar and flour, cover and put in a warm place for 30 minutes until the mixture is frothy.
- To make the buns Sieve the flour, salt and spice into a large baking bow, add the butter and using your fingertips, rub it into the flour until it looks like coarse sand. Make a well in the center and fill with the sugar and lemon zest. Pour on the yeast starter mix.
- Steadily incorporate the flour into the liquid center then mix the dough quickly. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured worktop until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
- Gently add the mixed dried fruit. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a warm, greased bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Place the dough on the worktop and knead again, knocking out any air. Shape it back into a ball again, put back into the bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Place back on the board again and divide into 12 even pieces. Roll them into buns and leave to rest for a few minutes on the work surface covered with a cloth.
- Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet. Slightly flatten each bun and then cut almost through dough to form a cross.
- Grease a large plastic bag and place the tray with the buns in it tying the end together. Leave to rise for 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8. Make a paste for the crosses on the buns with the plain flour and 2 tbsp cold water. Mix until it is soft enough to pipe through a nozzle.
- Remove the polythene bag and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake the buns for 8 -12 minutes or until risen and golden. Brush the buns with the jam as soon as they are ready. Cool on a wire rack
