Hot Cross Buns - Great for Tea Cakes too - Severn Bites Bread classes in Gloucestershire

Hot Cross Buns - Great for Tea Cakes too

Danielle Ellis

This recipe creates a tasty bun that has just the right level of sweetness and spice. The addition of the tangzhong makes a lovely light dough

You will need a stand mixer with a dough hook to make the buns using my method. This dough can be kept in the fridge overnight or for several hours after the first stagemaking it far easier to manipulate.

I suggest making the dough the day before the talk and putting it in the fridge. You can then shape the rolls at at time to suit you. You will need to prove your buns for an hour after shaping then bake.

While homemade hot cross buns are just as delicious without crosses, you can add them. Mix equal parts flour and water to create a very thick paste, adding a few drops of vegetable oil. Place in a piping bag, cut a small hole, and pipe in a continuous motion across the proved buns, left to right, then top to bottom.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Proving 2

Total Time 2 50

Course Afternoon Tea, Bread

Cuisine British

Servings buns

Equipment

Stand mixer
digital thermometer
Rolling pin
Pastry Brush
Plastic box with lid
Dough scraper
Digital scales

Ingredients

For the Tangzhong

25 grams butter
25 grams flour
50 millilitres milk

For the dough

500 grams white bread flour
7 grams dried instant yeast or 10 gr fresh yeast
2 eggs The second egg is for egg wash
250 millilitres water
25 grams butter
8 grams salt
50 grams sugar
20 gr mixed spice I like to mix my own using cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves and nutmeg

Dried Fruit

100 gr currants or sultanas
50 gr mixed candied peel

Piping (optional)

50 gr flour
water enough to make a stiff paste
oil a few drops

Glaze

Apricot jam warm slightly before spreading. Alternatively, used marmalade or redcurrant jelly

Instructions

Tangzhong

Make the Tangzhong. Weigh out the ingredients in a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour and mix, then add the milk. Cook for a few minutes. This is similar to making a roux for a sauce. The mixture will be very thick. Set aside and allow to cool down before using.

Make the dough

Weigh out the ingredients. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, egg and 250 ml water at 22?.
Mix with the dough hook until all the flour incorporated. It will be very stiff. Add the Tangzhong in small lumps. Then add the butter in small pieces.
Mix until the mixture reaches between 24 and 26°C. The time this will take will depend on how cold the ingredients were to start with. The dough will come away from the sides of the bowl and will feel very stretchy.
Add the mixed fruit and peel and mix well.
Cover or place in a plastic box with a cover and allow to rise for 1.5 hour. Alternatively, put the dough in the fridge to prove for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.

Weigh and roll

Once your dough has proved either in the fridge or overnight, roll it into 80 gr pieces. Set down in the order of cutting. Try to make sure they are of even size to ensure they bake evenly.
With a circular motion, roll each piece of dough into a sphere. It's often best to do this in two stages. Roll each one roughly in turn, then roll a second time.
You’ll now place the buns on your baking tray a thumb width apart. Brush with beaten egg.

Prove

Allow to prove for at least an hour at room temperature. You’ll see that the buns will have grown and will be almost touching.
When shaped you will need to leave the buns for about an hour so preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) at least 1/2 hour before you need to bake.

Pipe crosses (optional)

Mix equal parts flour and water to create a very thick paste, adding a few drops of vegetable oil. Place in a piping bag, cut a small hole, and pipe in a continuous motion across the proved buns, left to right, then top to bottom.