Got the urge to do a bit of baking this long weekend? How about spending your Saturday making some Classic Hot Cross Buns? (Recipe from Allyson Gofton.)
Dough
4 cups high grade flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp each ground allspice, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg
¼ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp dried yeast or 1½ tbsp Surebake
1 cup warm milk
100 grams softened butter
2 eggs
1 cup mixed dried fruit
Cross paste
½ cup flour
1 tblsp butter
¼ tsp baking powder
about ¼ cup milk
Sugar glaze
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp hot milk
1. Put the flour, salt, spices and brown sugar into a food processor and pulse to sift.
2. Stir the yeast and milk together and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.
3. Beat the eggs and softened butter into the frothy mixture.
4. With the motor running, pour the yeast mixture down the feed tube as fast as the flour can absorb it to form a soft dough. Process the mixture for 1 minute. Add the dried fruit and pulse to blend.
5. Turn the dough over in a greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in bulk.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and divide into 16 equal portions. Roll into balls and place on a greased baking tray with about 1 cm between each bun.
7. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes until well risen. Brush with milk.
8. Cross paste: sift flour and baking powder together. Rub in butter. Stir in enough milk to make a thick batter that can be piped. Pipe thin crosses onto the buns.
9. Bake at 190ºC for about 20-25 minutes.
10. Sugar glaze: dissolve sugar in hot milk. Brush buns with the sugar glaze just before they come out of the oven.
11. Cool on a cake rack.
