Hot Cross Buns - Mark Two

I had been hankering after these hot cross buns having made them for Good Friday a couple of weeks ago. I amended the recipe slightly. I didn't put the paste crosses on this time but I did make the glaze.

Ingredients:
Buns
300g white strong bread flour
200g wholemeal strong bread flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
75g raisins
50g mixed peel
110 caster sugar
50g butter
250ml milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Paste:
80g plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
100ml water

Glaze:

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp marmalade

1 tsp brown sugar

METHOD

Sift flour and spices into a large bowl and mix in the yeast, fruit, peel and sugar. 

Melt butter, stir in milk and vanilla extract and heat until tepid (I did this in the microwave. I forgot last time and maybe that is why my buns didn't rise).

Whisk into egg, add to flour mixture, form a dough and knead on a floured surface for 10min until smooth and elastic. 

Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Rising with the help of a hot water bottle!

Mix the paste, bung it in a piping bag (or a plastic freezer bag with one corner snipped off) and pipe a cross on each bun. 

I made the crosses by cutting into the bread this time rather than making the paste.

Bake at 180C for 10min, reduce the heat to 150C and bake for a further 15min.

Lightly brush with the glaze and cool on a rack.

We had one last night warm from the oven with a bit of butter and then toasted this morning. They really are lovely, full of flavour with a texture that is hard to describe. They are thick but also light and fluffy.