It’s Easter which means it’s the perfect time to make some Hot Cross Buns. We recently made Hot Cross Buns on Activity Quest using this recipe!
Did you know its traditional to eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday? Check out our other Good Friday Facts with our Top 10 Facts about Good Friday.
This recipe makes 16 Hot Cross Buns. For this recipe we will be using the oven and hob so make sure you have a responsible adult to help you make the Hot cross buns.
Ingredients
300ml of Full Fat Milk (or a milk alternative)
50g of Butter
500g Strong Bread Flour
1tsp Salt
75g Caster Sugar
7g Sachet of Fast Action Yeast
1 Egg (whisked)
100g Sultanas
50g Mixed Peel
Zest of 1 Orange
1tsp Cinnamon
2tsp All Spice
Method
- The first thing we need to do is bring the milk to the boil. Once the milk has started to boil then take it off the heat and add the butter and stir in as it melts. Let the mixture cool while you weigh out the next ingredients.
2. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl and mix together. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and pour in the milk mix you made earlier, then whisk 1 egg and add it to the well – if you have allergies or don’t eat eggs you can skip the egg it will just be slightly less fluffy a mix.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix all the ingredients together as best you can before using your hands to mix it until you have a lovely sticky dough.
4. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it. Kneading is something we do when we make bread to help it rise. What you need to do if hold the dough with the palm of one hand and then stretch it with the other hand by pushing it with your palm away from you. You want to knead the dough for about 5 mins until it feels smooth and stretchy.
5. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film or a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr. After an hour the dough should have doubled in size.
6.Next add the sultanas, zest and mixed peel along with the cinnamon and all spice. Remember to get an adult to help you zest the orange. Knead all these ingredients into the dough and leave to rise for another hour – it should double in size again.
An extra tip is to put some oil on the cling film to stop the dough getting a crust as it rises and touches the cling film.
7. After an hour split the dough into 16 pieces. The easiest way to do this is to split the dough into 4 even pieces and then make 4 pieces out of each larger piece.
8. Sprinkle flour on the worktop and roll each piece into a smooth ball
9. Put the buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover with a clean tea towel and then set aside to for 1 hr – this is called proving.
10. To make the cross i need to make a paste out of flour and water. Mix 3 tablespoons of flour with a tablespoon of water and add more water until you’ve made a thick paste.
11. Put this into a piping bag and pipe a long line across the buns and then pipe lines in the other direction to make crosses.
12. Now get an adult to put the buns in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees (or 220 if you don’t have a fan oven)
13. Get an adult to heat 4 tbsp apricot jam to melt – either on the hob or in the microwave, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool. This will make them super shiny!
And there you go – delicious homemade Hot Cross Buns just in time for Easter!
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