Hot Cross Buns Recipe 475 Recipes

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Whisk milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Cover and let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Sift flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins, eggs, and yeast mixture; mix until well combined.
• Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
• Knock back risen dough with your fist. Remove from the bowl and knead for 1 minute. Divide into 12 pieces and roll into buns.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Arrange buns neatly in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
• Whisk flour and water together in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag and carefully pipe a cross onto the top of each bun.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking until buns have risen and are golden in color, 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with warmed apricot jam.

HOT-CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with 4 tablespoons of the warm milk in a small bowl and set aside about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cream 4 tablespoons of the butter and brown sugar and beat in the eggs. When yeast mixture becomes frothy, stir it in, along with the spices, salt and remaining warm milk. Beat in the flour a cup at a time until a soft ball of dough can be gathered together. Dough can be mixed by machine if desired.
• Place dough on a floured work surface and lightly knead in the currants, adding more flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Kneading should take no more than a few minutes.
• Using some of the remaining butter, grease a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to butter all sides. Cover and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Butter two baking sheets with the remaining butter.
• Punch the dough down, divide it in half, then divide each piece in half again. Divide each portion of dough into six equal pieces and shape each into a ball.
• Place balls of dough on baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Set aside, covered lightly with waxed paper, to rise until they have doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Carefully slash a cross into the top of each bun, using a very sharp razor blade and cutting through the skin of the dough at least one-quarter inch deep. Or snip a small cross in the top with sharp scissors. Try not to compress the bun as you cut.
• Bake buns about 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Just before they come out of the oven, bring milk and sugar mixture to a boil. As soon as buns are done, brush them with milk and sugar glaze.
• Allow the buns to cool for 30 minutes, then serve while still warm.
• If desired, or if you have not cut the cross into the tops of the buns, the cross can be applied with icing. The buns must be completely cooled before the icing is applied. Mix the confectioners' sugar with the cold milk and lemon juice and, using the handle of a spoon or a chopstick, spread the icing to form a cross on top or to fill the cross-shaped cut.

TRADITIONAL HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. In a large bowl, combine eggs, butter, sugar, salt, spices, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in currants, raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 30 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°., Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over tops. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool slightly., For icing, in a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Pipe a cross on top of each bun. Serve warm.