And just like that, another Easter is gone! I enjoyed this Easter with my family feasting on LOTS of treats. This included both hot cross buns and chocolate (duh), slow roasted lamb, Cypriot grain salad, sticky date pudding and much much more! As you can imagine, the days after involved the recovery of a massive food coma, while trying to get through the amble leftovers. One delicious leftover is a stack of sourdough chocolate hot cross buns.
This s recipe is a new one I tested out this year. It’s just a quick little adaption from my traditional sourdough hot cross buns. Perfect for pre and post Easter baking. If you’re like me, now would be a perfect time to bake them using left over chocolate! Whilst I’ll always be an avid lover of a traditional bun, these are a delightful zesty decadent treat.
As this is another sourdough recipe, you do need plenty of time for proving. The butter and milk really slow down the whole process. It’s the perfect recipe for a cosy day at home where you can let the dough do its thing while you relax.
Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Levain:
- 320g full cream milk
- 250g bakers flour
- 40g 100% hydration sourdough starter
Dough:
- 160g baker’s flour
- 40g cocoa
- 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
- 70g candied peel
- 150g chocolate, chopped
Crosses
- 30g plain flour
- 10g cocoa
- 50g water
- 10g olive oil
Glaze
- 50g white sugar
- splash of vanilla (about 1tsp)
- 25g water
- 20g marsala (or 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).
- In the morning, your pre-fermented levain should have grown around 20% and be visibly bubbly.
- For the dough, combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the levain, melted butter. 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.
- 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!
Don’t have sourdough? Check out this old post for just your regular hot cross buns 🙂