Finally it is the school holidays! While I have enjoyed the past crazy 11 weeks of remote and onsite teaching it has been a weird, hectic and rather exhausting term. I’m excited to finally have two weeks off to pause and refresh before going back for what one can only expect to be an equally crazy term. I look forward to finally having time for my family; to cook and reflect to on my professional development and next steps as a teacher.
Unlike the Easter holidays, I was able to go and visit my family. This meant time to wind down and of course, lots of baking. Particular baking highlights were sourdough pizza, lemon delicous and these hot crossed (not crossed!) buns. I know it’s strange to have hot cross buns when Easter has well and truly passed. But they are my family’s favourite and we missed out on them due to the prior COVID-19 restrictions. So, why not make hot cross buns in June? They’re on supermarket shelves in December anyway.
This recipe is adapted from Julia Ostro’s sourdough hot cross buns. With her guidance I learned to use sourdough to make spiced hot cross buns and have since made a few tweaks of my own. These buns (now referred to as ‘not cross buns’ by my niece) are soft with the perfect balance of dried fruit and spica. The addition of fresh orange zest and candied peel adds a delicious element of citrus to the finished buns.
These buns are the ultimate comfort food, absolutely perfect for a cold and rainy winter day. Enjoy fresh out of the oven with a generous spread of salted butter. The hot cross buns are even better the next day when they are reheated in the oven to become extra crispy on the outside!
Hot Cross Bun / Not Cross Bun Recipe
Ingredients
Levain:
- 320g full cream milk
- 250g bakers flour
- 40g 100% hydration sourdough starter
Fruit:
- 65g sultanas
- 65g currants
- 30g candied peel
- juice of one orange
- 40 ml water
Dough:
- 200 g baker’s flour
- 50g wholewheat flour
- 8g salt
- zest of one orange
- 55g brown sugar
- 1/2tsp ground allspice
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 75g melted unsalted butter, cooled
Crosses
- 50g plain flour
- 50g water
- 10g olive oil
Glaze
- 50g white sugar
- pinch of cinnamon
- splash of vanilla (about 1tsp)
- 25g water
- 25g freshly squeezed orange juice
Method
- The night before, mix together the sourdough starter, milk and 250g bakers flour until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and sit at room temperature overnight (for 8-12 hours). Additionally, combine the fruit mixture ingredients and leave to soak overnight.
- In the morning, your pre-fermented levain should have grown around 20% and be visibly bubbly.
- Drain the soaked fruit mixture.
- For the dough, combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the levain, melted butter and drained fruit. Knead until well incorporated.
- Using an electric stand mixer, knead the dough for a further 5 minutes. Then, cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before kneading for another 3 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and leave the dough the undergo bulk fermentation. This will take about 4 hours. Every 30 minutes, lift and fold the dough. By turning the bowl 90 degrees after each fold, the dough should be folded over itself four times each time.
- Divide the dough into 9 (roughly 140g each) buns. Shape into little balls and place in a greased tin.
- Leave the buns to prove at room temperature for another 2-3 hours, or alternatively place in the fridge to prove overnight.
- Preheat the over to 200C.
- For the crosses, mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl until.
- Brush the top of the buns with a little milk. Place the cross mixture in a piping bag and pipe crosses, or decorative shapes if it isn’t Easter!
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and risen.
- For the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over a low heat until it begins to simmer, the sugar has dissolved.
- When the buns are still hot, brush over the glaze.
- Enjoy with big pieces of good-quality salted butter!