Hot cross buns are spiced sweet buns usually made with fruit and marked with a cross on the top to represent the cross on which Christ died. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the UK.
I love hot cross buns and I thought I would make a hot cross loaf so it could be easily sliced and toasted and it worked really well. I have decorated it with the usual crosses but you could leave it plain if you like and I would happily bake and eat this loaf all year round.
I have made my loaf with the classic flavours but I have added cranberries and apricots to my dried mixed fruit mixture. This loaf is really worth all the effort and tastes delicious sliced and served with lots of butter!
This loaf can be enjoyed toasted or untoasted for breakfast or afternoon tea with an obligatory cuppa.
To start warm the milk to just above a tepid temperature in the microwave or in a pan then and add the cubes of butter to melt in the milk, mix and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add the flour, sugar, salt, yeast*, egg, cinnamon and mixed spice.
*Do not put the yeast near the salt or it could kill the yeast.
Put the mixer on a low speed and add the milk & butter mixture slowly until all the flour is fully combined.
Set a timer for 7 minutes and increase the speed to medium. The dough will be quite wet initially but become smooth and glossy after mixing.
Take a large bowl and grease with oil and place the dough in it. Cover with greased cling film and put somewhere warm for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. I find in the winter this takes much longer but do not rush this stage.
Leave the dough in the bowl and add the dried fruit and orange zest and work it into the dough with your hands.
On a lightly floured surface take the fruited bread dough and “knock it back”. This means to knock the air bubbles out of the dough. Use your nuckles and fold the dough over and over. You will hear air bubbles popping - continue to do this until all the air bubbles have gone.
Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
Now shape the bread into 10 round shapes by using the palm of your hands keep going around the edges and tucking the dough under until you have round smooth buns .
Place the buns into a greased 2lb loaf tin and recover with the cling film.
Leave to prove for a second time until it has doubled in size and are nearly touching the top of the tin.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (180 fan).
Mix the flour and water into a smooth paste and put in a disposable icing bag.
When ready to pipe the crosses snip off the end and pipe across each row then down each row to make the crosses.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Finally brush the top with the warmed apricot jam while hot from the oven.
Leave to cool completely.
Slice to serve.
Hot Cross Bun Loaf
Sarah’s servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Hard
Baking time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Bread
300ml milk, tepid
50g unsalted butter, cubed
500g strong white bread flour
80g caster sugar
1tsp salt
7g dried yeast
2tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp ground mixed spice
1 large egg
125g mixed dried fruit
1 large orange, zested
Crosses
50g strong white bread flour
3tbsp water
Glaze
2tbsp apricot jam, warmed
METHOD:
Warm the milk to just above a tepid temperature in the microwave or in a pan then and add the cubes of butter to melt in the milk, mix and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add the flour, sugar, salt, yeast*, egg, cinnamon and mixed spice. *Do not put the yeast near the salt or it could kill the yeast.
Put the mixer on a low speed and add the milk & butter mixture slowly until all the flour is fully combined.
Set a timer for 7 minutes and increase the speed to medium. The dough will be quite wet initially but become smooth and glossy after mixing.
Take a large bowl and grease with oil and place the dough in it. Cover with greased cling film and put somewhere warm for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. I find in the winter this takes much longer but do not rush this stage.
Leave the dough in the bowl and add the dried fruit and orange zest and work it into the dough with your hands.
On a lightly floured surface take the fruited bread dough and “knock it back”. This means to knock the air bubbles out of the dough. Use your nuckles and fold the dough over and over. You will hear air bubbles popping - continue to do this until all the air bubbles have gone.
Now shape the bread into 10 round shapes by using the palm of your hands keep going around the edges and tucking the dough under until you have round smooth buns .
Place the balls in a 2lb greased loaf tin in two rows of 5 balls and recover with the cling film.
Leave to prove for a second time until it has doubled in size and are nearly touching the top of the tin.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (180 fan).
Mix the flour and water into a smooth paste and put in a disposable icing bag. When ready to pipe the crosses snip off the end and pipe down each row then across each row to make the crosses.
Bake the loaf for 30 minutes.
Finally brush with the warmed apricot jam while hot from the oven then leave to cool completely .
EQUIPMENT USED
SARAH’S EXTRA SLICE
If you don’t like the peel in mixed fruit just use raisins or sultanas or a mixture of both.
Would this work in a bread maker? ( I’m not fit enough to do bread in the traditional way now)?