Tomorrow is Good Friday. In Bermuda that means hot cross buns, fish cakes and kites. There will be kite flying competitions and events all over the island. It has been rainy over the past few days but we are hoping it will be a nice day tomorrow.
This year I decided to make my own hot cross buns. I make my own bread so it seemed like a no brainer, but for some reason I could not make the good enough. This was my fourth effort. The texture and the taste of the bun was actually good. It was the shape that I could not get right as well as the cross. After my fourth effort I believe I got it right.
And now I have this nursery rhyme stuck in my head
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3pqe_jmqc]
The bun itself I made it the same way I make buns but also added spices: nutmeg, cloves,cardamom and cinnamon. Cardamom and myself have fallen in love. It makes the food I make taste even better. It is pricey but SO worth it!
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water lukewarm
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 - 4½ cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup powdered milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 egg for use as egg wash
For syrup glaze
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
For icing
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon milk
Instructions
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In a small bowl combine the lukewarm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir and let it rest for about 10 minutes until it bubbles. The yeast is active now.
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In a bowl add 4 cups of flour, salt, powdered milk, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until combined.
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Add the eggs and butter to the yeast mixture and stir. Pour the yeast mixture over the flour, and knead for about 5 minutes. Add raisins and continue kneading for another minute. If the dough is too wet add more flour as needed. The dough should be quite soft and elastic. You will know when it's done when it pulls away from the bowl.
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In a large bowl add a bit of oil, and place the dough in the bowl, rolling it around so that it gets oil all over, this way it won’t get dry. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. You need to let the dough rise for a an hour or until doubled in size.
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Preheat oven to 380 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Clean and flour your work surface. Cut and roll the dough into 16 balls. Place the rolls in the pan and cover with a clean damp towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes until doubled in size. Whisk together the egg and 1½ tablespoon water. Brush over the tops of the buns before baking.
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Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
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While baking make the syrup by mixing the sugar with the water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over low heat. Continue boiling for another minute or until syrup thickens a bit. Set aside.
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To make the icing, whisk all the ingredients together and pour in a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use. If the icing is too thin add more icing sugar, if it's too thick add more milk until desired consistency.
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When the buns are out of the oven, brush with the sugar syrup. Let cool completely and then pipe icing over the buns to form a cross.
Recipe Notes
You can use a bread maker to mix the dough, follow the directions of your bread maker.
These buns will go fast!
