Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

• 450g white bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 50g sugar
• 50g butter
• 250ml milk
• 1 egg
• About 100g of whatever dried fruits you have.

Method

1. I used raisins because it was all I had. But I have used cherries choc chips crystallised ginger pineapple in the past to ring the changes.
2. Put all the ingredients except the dried fruits in the bread maker on the dough setting.
3. Put dried fruits in a bowl and cover with boiling water until plump. Drain and dry.
4. When the dough is ready knead until reduced in size and knead in the fruit.
5. Divide into 24 pieces. I weigh them to make sure they are 1 and a half ounces each. Then shape into buns and put on either well-greased baking sheets or lined with baking parchment.
6. Leave to rise until about double in size. They will rise further on baking.
7. Mix 50g of plain flour with about 5 or 6 tablespoons of water to a paste. Pop in a piping bag and without actually touching the buns pipe crosses on the top.
8. If you don’t want to do this part cut crosses on the buns immediately after shaping them. And then leave to rise.
9. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 fans or equivalent.
10. While baking mix 4 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a pan and bring to a bubble until it is a thin syrup.
11. As soon as the buns are cooked brush with the syrup.
12. If you don’t have a bread maker. Warm the milk until just warm and mix in the dried yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar and leave until bubbles appear. Then mix all the remaining ingredients together apart from the dried fruit. Either need with a dough hook in a mixer or by hand until the mixture is smooth silky and elastic.
13. Then cover and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours until doubled in size.
14. Knockback the dough by kneading then add the dried fruit and continue as the recipe.

Recipe and photo provided by Diane Ball