Enjoy our Hot Cross Buns at Easter (or any time, really!) Delicious as they are or toasted with butter. Have you read the ingredients on the store-bought buns? Once you do, you will never buy them again. And why would you, when these buns are just as quick and easy to make as running to the store? Feel free to replace the sultanas with cacao chips!
Ingredients:
Buns
- 1 cup full cream milk (or milk of your preference)
- 1/2 cup Changing Habits Rapadura Sugar
- 1 tbsp dried yeast
- 4 cups Changing Habits Emmer Wheat Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Changing Habits Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 pinch Changing Habits Seaweed Salt
- 70 g butter, cut into cubes and left to soften
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1/4 cup sultanas or Changing Habits Cacao Chips (feel free to add more!)
For the X
- 1/4 cup plain flour
- 1 pinch Changing Habits Seaweed Salt
- 1/4 cup milk or water
Sugar Glaze
- 2 tbsp Changing Habits Rapadura Sugar
- 2 tsp water
Method:
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan add milk, sugar and yeast and heat on low until sugar dissolves and yeast mixes through.
- In a bowl rub the butter into the flour until crumbly and then add the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in milk mixture. Combine a little and then add the whisked egg. Mix together until it forms a dough.
- Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a floured board or mat and knead with your hands for approximately 5 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Add sultanas (or cacao chips) and knead the dough again until all the sultanas are evenly combined through.
- Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for approximately an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. The dough really needs to double in size otherwise your buns will turn out really dense. If it’s a cool day, proving can sometimes take longer than an hour.
- When the dough is ready, place onto a mat and punch it down. Divide into 12 equal balls (more if you would like smaller buns).
- Place balls close together onto prepared baking tray and leave to rise again while you prepare the mixture for the X’s topping.
- Preheat oven to 180c.
For the X
- Place flour, salt and milk in a bowl and mix until combined.
- Pour mixture into a piping bag and pipe crosses on top of all the buns.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until buns are golden.
Sugar Glaze
- Place water and sugar in small saucepan and heat on medium heat until sugar dissolves.
- Using a pastry brush, apply hot sugar glaze over buns while they are still warm.
- Allow to cool a little before enjoying them warm with butter!
