Hot Cross Buns Recipe

This recipe for traditional hot cross buns with a spiced citrus glaze is the outcome of my “How To Make Hot Cross Buns” live stream on YouTube. But this is actually a bit of a riff on a recipe I discovered from Chef John from Food Wishes Dot Com. Although we have other hot cross bun recipes on the website, I thought it would be cool to document the process from the video

Traditional Hot Cross Buns – Ingredients

• 4 cups bakers’ flour (you can use All Purpose flour as well)
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 cup currants
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg beaten
• 7 tbsp salted butter melted
• 1 cup hot water

Flour Paste for Cross –  Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1. Put milk in the microwave for 1 minute
2. Add melted butter to milk and set aside
3. Add currants to hot water and simmer in a pot for 3-5 minutes or microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds
4. Rinse currants with tap water then drain
5. Add flour, yeast, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamon, lemon zest, orange zest and currants to a bowl and combine well
6. Add milk and butter mixture and beaten egg
7. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula mix dry and wet ingredients together until a dough is formed
8. Bring dough together in bowl for 1 minute
9. Lightly dust your work surface with flour then transfer your dough unto surface knead lightly for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and springy.
10. Add a drizzle of oil to your bowl, add dough back to the bowl, cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes to an hour or until it doubles in size
11. Punch air out of dough and transfer back unto your work surface
12. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces
13. Form dough into small balls in the palm of your hand, rolling them then pinching the top to get the surface as smooth and tight as possible
14. Place the ball of dough back onto the surface and place your hand over it in a cupping formation then roll the dough between the work surface and your hand in a circular motion until smooth
15. Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat. (You can also just grease the surface of your baking tray if you don’t have parchment paper or a silicon mat)
16. Cover and set aside, allow to rest for 15 minutes
17. To make the paste for the crosses, combine flour and water until it becomes a smooth paste
18. Transfer to a Ziplock bag and push down to the corner of the bag. Using a scissors, cut a small hole to allow for piping approx 1/4 of an inch thick.
19. Pipe crosses unto dough
20. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 18 – 22 minutes or until golden brown
21. Apply Spiced Citrus Glaze while buns are still hot
22. Allow to cool a bit before eating
23. Best enjoyed warm with a couple slices of cheese and a cup of tea!

Spiced Citrus Glaze Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice and orange juice mixture
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 grains of clove
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• a pinch of salt

Method

1. Add ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer and reduce for 10 minutes