Easter Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

Magic Monkey

Makes 6 large buns

These are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but if anyone's doing any easter baking over the weekend, here's a recipe that produces very soft buns. The cooked flour/water paste is what gives it it's softness.

Ingredients

Flour/Water Paste:

• 125ml water
• 25g strong flour

Cook the water and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to the point where you can see the base of the pot when stirring. Cook for about 1 minute longer until it leaves light steaks in the mixture, like a very light "ribbon stage" when whisking eggs and sugar together. Cool to room temperature.

Dough:

• 1 mug strong black tea (Earl Grey is good)
• 60g raisins

• 250g bread flour
• 25g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 7g fast-action dried yeast (or 21g fresh)

• 75ml warm milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 25g butter, melted and cooled
• 80g flour/water paste
• 25g mixed peel

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp milk

• 3 Tbsp reserved tea
• 3 Tbsp sugar

• 3 Tbsp icing sugar
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Put the raisins in a large mug. Add the teabag and boiling water. Leave for 20 mins for the raisins to plump up. Strain the raisins and reserve the tea.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, mixed spice and yeast together.

3. Add the warm milk, egg, butter, and 80g of the flour/water paste.

4. Mix to a dough and knead until smooth, about 4 mins on low speed in a stand mixer, then 8 mins on medium-high. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Add a little more flour if it sticks to the sides of the bowl. If it's just sticking to the bottom of the bowl while mixing, that's fine.

5. Near the end of the kneading, add the drained raisins and mixed peel. Knead until incorporated. Because the raisins are soft, adding them in with the dry ingredients breaks them up too much.

6. Lightly oil a bowl and the dough. Cover and leave in the oiled bowl to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

6. Knock back, knead for 1 minute. Rest for 5 mins, covered.

7. Shape into 6 equal sized buns. Place side by side in a greased square baking tray. Cover and proof until almost x1.5 times in size, not doubled.

8. Mix the egg yolk and milk. Brush buns with this mixture. Alternatively, use just cream or milk alone.

9. Bake at 190c for 20-25 minutes.

10. Boil the reserved tea with the sugar to make a glaze. Brush the buns with this glaze the moment they are removed from the oven.

11. Leave to cool.

12. Make a stiff icing with the icing sugar and lemon juice and pipe, using a baking paper cornet, a cross on each bun. Alternatively, use ready to roll icing.

NB: This dough can also be used to make a very light white sandwich loaf. Just omit the egg, mixed spice, raisins, mixed peel, and any glazes.