Spiced Fruited Hot Cross Buns Recipes

CANDIED-FRUIT HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in the butter, eggs, sugar and salt. Combine 3 cups flour, candied fruit and cinnamon; add to yeast mixture and mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down; shape into 2-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Beat egg yolk and water; brush over buns. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. Combine icing ingredients; pipe an "X" on top of each bun.

SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.
• Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.
• Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions - I roll my dough into a long sausage shape, then quarter and divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.
• Use a small, sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the crosses you cut earlier. Bake for 12-15 mins until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. While still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.

TRADITIONAL FRUITY AND SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS: BREAD-MAKER

Steps:

• Put all of the Hot Cross Bun ingredients into your break maker in the order listed, excepting the dried fruit.
• Put the fruit into the "extras" tray on your bread maker, or leave to one side to add towards the end of the kneading cycle.
• Set the bread maker to Dough setting - or Raisin Dough setting if you have it.
• Press start and if you do not have an "extras" tray, add your dried fruit when your machine alerts you or 5 minutes before the end of the kneading time.
• Lightly grease two baking trays/sheets.
• When the dough cycle has finished, take the dough out and place it on a lightly floured board. Knock back and shape into 12 pieces, rolling them into balls.
• Place them on the greased baking trays/sheets and cover with a clean tea towel or lightly oiled cling film.
• Allow them to rise for about 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Meanwhile pre-heat the oven the 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Make the pastry crosses by rolling out the ready-made pastry very thinly and cutting into strips.
• Make the glaze by heating up the milk and adding the sugar - heat them until the sugar has dissolved. Set to one side.
• When the Hot Cross Buns are ready to bake, place two strips of pastry on each top - pressing lightly and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. The buns should sound hollow when tapped underneath.
• Brush the glaze on each bun as soon as they have been taken out of the oven and then allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.
• Eat whilst still warm, split & spread with butter!
• These are GREAT toasted when they are a few days old as well!

HOT CROSS BUN RING WITH SPICED HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Warm the milk and orange zest in a small saucepan until steaming. Remove from the heat and add the butter, swirling the pan until the butter has melted and the milk has cooled to hand temperature.
• Mix the flour, cinnamon, sugar, yeast and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and the beaten egg, and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture clumps together. Tip out onto your work surface and knead until smooth and elastic - the dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger. Transfer to a clean oiled bowl, cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hrs or until doubled in size.
• Dust your largest baking tray with flour. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead again to knock out any air bubbles. Add the dried fruit and knead to incorporate into the dough. Divide the dough into 11 equal pieces. Roll each lump of dough into a smooth ball. Arrange the balls on your tray in a ring, leaving a small gap between each one. Cover loosely with a piece of cling film and leave somewhere warm to prove again for a further 1 hr or until doubled in size, the buns should be just touching.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the buns with a little beaten egg. Mix the remaining flour with enough water to make a thick paste, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle, or use a sandwich bag and snip off one corner. Use the paste to pipe crosses over the buns - this is easiest if you pipe in one big circle, then put a line across the middle of each bun. Bake for 25 mins until golden and cooked through.
• Meanwhile, make the spiced honey butter. Put the butter, spices and honey in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. When the buns are cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 mins on the baking tray. Serve the bun ring warm with the butter in the centre for spreading. The buns will keep for up to 3 days in a tin or freeze for up to 3 months.