Hot Cross Bun
Growing up in Trinidad there wasn’t an Easter that we didn’t have hot cross buns. I’ve always loved them and decided to try them out. There are different versions of these buns. Some are heavy and bread like and others are soft and moist.
I finally found a recipe I like which I adapted to suit my preferences. These buns are light and airy. They are not too sweet and have a good balance of dough and fruit. Be adventurous and try different dried fruits like currants or cranberries. If you’re not fond of kneading dough and you have a bread machine, you can let the bread machine do the work of kneading the dough and the first rise then shape into balls.
Hot Cross Buns
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Bread Machine
- Oven
- Digital Kitchen Scale
- Measuring spoons
- Kitchen/BBQ Thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (227g) warm milk
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter
- 1 tsp (6g) salt
- 4 tbsp (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp tumeric or saffron powder
- 4 cups (480g) all purpose flour
- 5 tsp (15g) vital wheat gluten
- 1 tbsp (7g) yeast
- 1/2 cup (75g) raisins
Glaze
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Stand Mixer Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your stand mixer with the dough hook and knead for 5 minutes
- Cover and let rest for one hour
- Weigh the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces
- Use butter on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to your hands while you shape into balls, then let the balls rise for an hour or until doubled
- Bake for 15 minutes at 375F
- While buns are baking, make the glaze by mixing sugar and warm water
- When buns are finished baking (internal temperature of 190F), remove from oven and brush glaze over tops.
- Place buns back in the oven for 2 mins.
Bread Machine Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the raisins in the order shown. If your machine beeps to signify when to add fruit, wait for the beep. Else, add raisins with the other ingredients
- Use the dough program on your machine and wait for it to complete.
- Follow from step 3 of stand mixer instructions above.
Notes
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up
- Can use a combination of raisins and currants or even cranberries
- Use a thermometer - rolls are finished at 190F
- Substitute liquid milk for warm water and 1/3 cup (23g) dry milk powder. Add powder after adding flour
- Substitute dry instant yeast for 21g fresh cake yeast
- The dough can be sticky so use butter on your hands to shape
Recipe adapted from:
http://www.trinigourmet.com/index.php/trinidad-sugar-bunshot-cross-buns-recipe/
