Spiced hot cross buns
- James Martin
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Makes 12
More effort
Prep: 45 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Plus rising and proving
A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.70 ratingsRate
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Make the most of the long Easter weekend and fill the house with the smell of spiced buns baking
Freezable
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Showing items 1 to 3 of 3
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Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
For the dough
-
450g strong white flour
plus extra for dusting
-
2 x 7g sachets easy-blend yeast
-
50g caster sugar
-
150ml warm milk
-
1 egg
beaten
-
50g unsalted butter
melted, plus extra for greasing
-
oil
for greasing
The spices and dried fruit
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 100g currant
To decorate
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
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Nutrition: per bun
-
kcal242
-
fat6g
-
saturates3g
-
carbs44g
-
sugars14g
-
fibre1g
-
protein6g
-
salt0.46g
low
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Method
-
step 1
Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough – start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it’s too wet, add more flour.
-
step 2
Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size – this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.
-
step 3
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions – I roll my dough into a long sausage shape, then quarter and divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.
-
step 4
Use a small, sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
-
step 5
When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the crosses you cut earlier. Bake for 12-15 mins until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. While still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.
RECIPE TIPS
MORE EASTER BAKING
Once you’ve mastered these simple buns, you can use the same dough to make James's teatime Chelsea buns and delicious fruit loaf (see 'Goes well with') – just mix up the spices a bit and swap the currants for other dried fruits and nuts.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2010
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A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.70 ratings
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