Honey-glazed Cranberry and Apricot Hot Cross Buns - Sinful!

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Yikes! Nearly forgot to make Hot Cross Buns. I've made several versions, but these are still my favourites. You still have time to make them for tomorrow!

Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns, One a Penny, Two a Penny, Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns have been a part of Easter for a very long time (how long depends on what version of history you believe - but they may have originated in the 14th Century or even earlier). They would originally have been plainer, as dairy products were forbidden to Christians during Lent, and the Mixed Spice would have been hugely expensive, and anyway, wasn't in common use until the early to mid-19th Century. Here, they have been updated further with the addition of a Tangzhong roux which helps lock in moisture and keeps these buns deliciously light and fresh. 

This recipe may seem long, but no step has actual ‘hands on’ time of more than a few minutes and I think the result is worth the effort. Read the entire recipe first to make sure you have all the ingredients, and complete the steps in the order given. I recommend a stand mixer with a dough hook for this as it is quite a sticky dough to begin with, but if you do it by hand, you’ll have worked off enough calories to eat more than your fair share J

In essence, the steps are: make Tangzhong roux; make dough; make paste for cross; bake; brush with warm honey; eat with a good cuppa

Hot and Cross? Anything but!

Ok, here goes…

For 18 - 24 sinfully sticky buns, you will need...

... to preheat the oven to 180°C when ready to bake

For the Tangzhong roux

40g strong white flour (bread flour)

200mls water

Mix the two ingredients together in a small saucepan, slowly whisking in the water to create a lump-free liquid. Place over a medium heat and stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Continue cooking for another minute or so until you have a thick, creamy almost translucent paste. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.

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For the dough

50g ready-to-eat dried apricots, cut into small pieces (about the size of sultanas)

50g cranberries, halved

50g sultanas

10g mixed peel (candied peel)

580g strong white flour (bread flour)

80g sugar

1 teaspoon fine table salt

2 teaspoons mixedspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 sachet of fast action dried yeast (7g)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg, beaten 

260mls fresh milk (heated to between 37-39°C)

a little extra flour for dusting the work surface and your hands for kneading

a little extra milk to brush the buns before they go in the oven

Method

Put the flour, sugar, salt, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, orange zest, and dried yeast (keeping the yeast away from the salt) into a large bowl or stand mixer. Mix to combine.

In a separate small bowl put the dried fruit and mixed peel and cover with boiling water – cover and set aside until the dough has had its first rise. (This plumps up the fruit and helps to prevent it stealing valuable moisture from the dough.)

Add the prepared Tangzhong paste to the flour mixture along with the olive oil, beaten egg and milk and mix until just combined. Once you have a smooth mixture, leave for 10 minutes so the flour can absorb some of the moisture and make a less sticky dough (thank you Dan Lepard for that tip).

Next, knead the dough in your stand mixer or by hand for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise until about doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, drain and dry the fruit on paper towels before proceeding with the next step.

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured board and gently knead for a minute or so.  With your fingers, press it out into a sheet about 1cm thick and sprinkle the fruit over, leaving a margin of about 6cm around the edges. Fold one edge two thirds of the way over the sheet, and fold the opposite side over this, so you have a long, narrow rectangle. Press down with your fingers to encase the fruit inside, expanding the sheet once again. Repeat the folding process one more time, then knead the dough lightly to form a ball. (All this helps to distribute the fruit evenly).

Now, weigh the dough and divide it into 24 even portions for small buns, or 18 even portions for monstrous buns.  Shape the portions into smooth round balls, and place in a lightly oiled baking tin around 23cm x 33cm leaving a little room between them and their neighbours. Cover with a lightly oiled sheet of cling film and leave until the buns have doubled in size and snuggled up to their neighbours.

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Brush gently with a little milk before completing the next step.

Next, pre-heat the oven to 180°C. While the oven is heating, make the flour paste for the cross decoration below:

For the cross decoration

100g plain flour

75mls cold water

Mix the two ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a smooth and lump-free paste that holds its shape. Place in a small piping bag (a baking parchment cone with a small hole snipped is perfect). You could use a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off but I’m trying to avoid gratuitous use of plastic where possible. Pipe a long line down the centre of each row of buns, following the contours of the dough. Then pipe lines across the middle of each row to form crosses.

Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until risen and golden.

Tip: I like to turn my oven into a sauna for these, and it helps them rise better by keeping the crust soft until the dough has had time to puff up. To do this, place a baking tin half-filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven when you pre-heat it. Be super careful when opening the oven as you will release a cloud of scalding hot steam.

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For the honey glaze

2 – 3 tablespoons runny honey, warmed (place in a heatproof bowl and stand the bowl in hot water for a couple of minutes, or nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds until warmed through.).

When the buns come out of the oven, brush with the warmed honey.

It is considered good luck to share these buns and the cinnamon and orange make them particularly good with coffee so what better excuse to invite some friends over!

They are good just as... but even better toasted and smothered with salty butter.

Happy Easter! 

x

First published 31 March 2020

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