RainFlower's Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Whilst on a knitty forum the other day, one of the lovely ladies posted some pictures of her homemade Hot Cross Buns.  I've never been overly excited by Hot Cross Buns, but as these were a personal recipe and made with wholemeal flour I just couldn't help myself but ask for the recipe.  It is Easter after all!  RainFlower very kindly typed it out for me and you'll find it at the bottom of the blog.

I knew these used to be traditionally only eaten on Good Friday. Still as my family will confirm I'm a bit of a "but why" kinda girl.  So I had to look into the Origins of the hot cross bun a bit more.  It seems they have quite a varied past.  I particularly like the idea of ensuring friendship for the coming year, by the sharing together of a Hot Cross Bun.

I found this to be quite a sticky mixture and would suggest kneading it in a Kenwood or similar with a dough-hook as I got nice and sticky with it. All part of the fun though.  Plus I used cold milk which made the initial rise time about 2 hours.  What a dumbo, I really should know better than to add cold liquid to a yeast mixture. The stickiness may have been down to using 2 duck eggs, so larger than average, so I kept adding a little flour as I kneaded to un-stick myself.

After kneading the dough for a few minutes, I covered and left it for 2 hours to double in size.  This would be much less if I had warmed the milk.  I then popped it out on the side, squished out the air and divided it into 8 buns.  These were covered with a tea-towel and left to rise again.

Adding the paste was interesting.  Just how do you add a thick glue mix of water and flour and make it into a cross??  In the end I decided to use a little implement normally used for inkling out seafood like crab claws ....... did the job though!

Popped them in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes, turning part way through, added the nice sticky glaze and voila!  Lovely rustic Hot Cross Buns.

They are super filling, due to the wholemeal and next time I will certainly make them smaller, but not bad for a first attempt.  Perhaps I might also try the recipe with 1/2 white bread flour and 1/2 wholemeal.  Might just have to go and try another one with some Lemon Marmalade!

Happy Easter!

RainFlower's Hot X Buns Recipe
500gr wholemeal flour ( or I sometimes use 400gr wholemeal + 100gr brown ( malted) flour )
300gr milk (I suggest warming the milk to speed up the initial rise)
2 eggs (I used 2 duck eggs)
30ml oil (I used vegetable oil)
1tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey ( or sugar)
1tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp nutmeg
1tsp allspice
1 tsp of dried yeast ( or 2tsp look what is recommended by your yeast manufacturer per 500gr of flour, I have 2 different brands) (I used 1.5 tsp's of yeast)
125gr of mixed dried fruit (I used sultanas as that's what I had)
Mix, knead, let rise, knock down, shape buns. Let rise, cross with paste ( 4Tbsp flour+ 2Tbsp water) Bake till golden brown. Take out and brush with glaze 4Tbsp milk + 2 Tbsp sugar dissolved.
(200c in a static oven - reduce for a fan oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown)
ETA Gobble up with tea and coffee… yummm….
(Consume topped with butter and maybe jam)