One thing I love about this time of year coming up to Easter are the fact that the shops are all selling super tasty hot cross buns! As much as I love the shop bought ones, they’re not a patch on the traditional hot cross buns that I remember my Nana making when I was younger so today I’m going to share a recipe that I’ve tweaked from hers to allow me to use the breadmaker to make.
It’s very similar to the version that I remember my Nana making but with a few tweaks as we like ours a bit spicier with more fruit than I remember her using.
How to make traditional hot cross buns
For the hot cross buns:
200 ml warmed milk (I pop mine in a jug in the microwave)
1 large egg
450 g strong white bread flour
2 teaspoons ground mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
50 g brown sugar
50 g melted butter
7 g dried yeast (that’s 1 sachet if you buy the sachets)
150 g mixed dried fruit
For the glaze:
2 tablespoons golden syrup/honey
For the crosses:
3 tablespoons of plain flour
- In the past, I’ve made this recipe by hand but now that I’ve got the breadmaker it’s so much easier. Just add everything except the dried fruit to the breadmaker bowl and set it off on the dough setting. Mine takes an hour and a half so I just leave it to do its thing.
- When the breadmaker is done, get the dough out and transfer it on to a floured surface and flatten it out a bit. Add the fruit to the top and then knead the dough until the fruit is spread throughout the dough.
- When that’s done, divide the mixture into 12 balls and place them on a greased baking tray.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and let them rise again for another 30/45 minutes.
- While the dough is rising again, preheat your oven to 200 c (fan), slightly higher if you’re not using a fan setting.
- Mix the flour with a little water and roll that into thin strips.
- Using the strips, make crosses on the top of your buns.
- Bake in the oven for around 12 – 15 minutes. They should be well risen and a little golden when they’re ready.
- When the hot cross buns come out of the oven, heat the syrup very slightly in the microwave (I do 20 seconds) and then brush it on top of the buns as a glaze.
- Leave to cool.
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