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Posts tagged ‘Hot cross buns’

Apr 12

55 Comments

Hot Cross Buns

Last year I made hot cross buns, I liked them so much that they have become an Easter tradition. The recipe I made last year was really good,  but I’m always on the hunt for one that could be better. I use King Arthur Flour and love their recipes. My go to dinner rolls are from their site and they are the best, last years hot cross buns were also a King Arthur recipe.  In reading over this recipe I noticed that there is very little rising time involved, 45 minutes for the first rise and 20-30 minutes for the second rise, thats it. I chose to make them on a warm day to make the rise that much easier. The dough comes together quickly, it’s a very wet dough and now I know why they say to use a scoop and plop them in muffin tins, it does give the option of making them free form in a round pan (I chose that option). If you make them be warned the dough is hard to handle, it’s very sticky and soft. I first oiled my hands to try to form the balls and then changed to flour and let me tell you my hands were a sticky mess. I can deal with that but it makes forming the dough balls difficult. The recipe makes 18, I made them larger and it yielded 14. They also are not exactly round, sort of mishapen but they are very soft and fluffy.

Both recipe’s are similar in technique, I like the use of potato flour in these rolls, potato always yields a very soft moist roll, the flavor is good, however I liked the look of the other rolls I made more. Maybe I will play around with this recipe and see if I can’t get them to look better because they sure are delicious. So pillowy soft, a wonderful recipe and after tasting them I forgot about the sticky messy dough.

Ready to rise

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe from King Arthur Flour site

1 cup raisins, golden raisins or dried fruit (I used mixed dried fruit soaked in rum)

2 tbs rum or water

3 3/4 cup all purpose flour (Because the dough was so wet I added 3 tbs of flour to make it cohesive)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup potato flour or potato flakes

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg (next time I will use 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 3/4 tsp cinnamon)

1/4 tsp allspice

2 large eggs

4 tbs melted butter

1 3/4 cup lukewarm water

Glaze (Optional but recommended)

1/3 cup sugar

4 tsp water

1 tbs vanilla extract

Icing for cross

1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbs soft butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs cream or milk

  1. Mix together the raisins and rum or water in a non-reactive bowl. For best absorption, use a microwave-safe bowl, cover the bowl, and heat for 1 minute, or until the mixture is simmering. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
  2. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  3. Stir in the Princess Cake Flavor (if you’re using it), eggs, water, melted butter and the raisin mixture (including any remaining soaking liquid), then beat at high speed for 1 minute. The dough will be cohesive, but not smooth; that’s OK.
  4. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest/rise in a warm place for 45 minutes; it’ll get a bit puffy, but won’t really increase much in size.
  5. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups. If you have just one 12-cup muffin pan, use aluminum foil cups for the remainder of the dough; or make free-form buns, and place them in an 8″ round cake pan.
  6. To make the glaze: Stir together the glaze ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl, then heat in the microwave until the sugar dissolves when you stir the mixture. Set aside to cool for a couple of minutes.
  7. Use a muffin scoop or 1/4-cup measure to fill the muffin cups; each should be about 3/4 full. If you have a scale, use about 77g (2 3/4 ounces) dough in each cup.
  8. Brush the lukewarm glaze atop the shaped buns.
  9. Let the buns rise, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’ve risen just over the top of the cups.
  10. Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and quickly turn them out of the pans onto a rack; if you wait too long, the glaze will cause them to stick.
  11. Allow the buns to cool for 10 minutes before icing.
  12. To make the icing: Combine all the icing ingredients in a small bowl and beat until thick.
  13. Use a pastry bag and tip to pipe thick crosses onto the buns. If you don’t have a pastry bag, fill a sturdy plastic bag with the icing, squeezing it down into one corner. Snip the tip of the bag off, and squeeze the frosting onto the buns.
  14. Store, well-wrapped, for 2 days at room temperature, or freeze for up to a month.

 

Mar 24

90 Comments

Hot Cross Buns And New Food52 App

IMG_2158

This recipe comes from The Bakers Catalogue/King Arthur Flour. I am working my way to Easter and Hot Cross Buns are an Easter tradition for many. I have never made them before, I’ve bought and eaten them and love them but never tried making them myself. This recipe sounds easy enough, I love the boozy fruit in the buns and am a sucker for that sweet cross on the top of the bun.

They turned out just beautiful, soft and pillowy, they smell amazing and have a very good rise. They are really delicious and made only a few minor changes mainly with the dried fruit and the soaking liquid and they turned out so good that I will do it again just as I made them.

On a completely unrelated topic, Food52 launched a new app for ipad and iPhone that I am having so much fun with, it’s all about cooking without a recipe or #notrecipes. Half of what I make does not involve a recipe except for baking. It’s a fun app, you interact with other cooks and there are great food52 contests as well. Try it out, it’s very cool, a real source of inspiration and it’s free.

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Makes 12-14 buns

Buns 

  • 1/4 cup apple juice or rum(I used Poire William)
  • 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit(apricots, golden raisins, cherries,cranberries,pears)
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dried currants(didn’t use currants used golden raisins)
  • 1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature (Used 2% but recommend whole milk)
  • 3 large eggs, 1 separated
  • 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice (I used allspice)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Topping

  • 1 large egg white, reserved from above
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Icing

  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 teaspoons milk, or enough to make a thick, pipeable icing (It was very thick but was better thick than too thin)

Directions

  1. Lightly grease a 10″ square pan or 9″ x 13″ pan. (I used a sheet pan lined with parchment)
  2. Mix the rum or apple juice with the dried fruit and raisins, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave briefly, just till the fruit and liquid are very warm, and the plastic starts to “shrink wrap” itself over the top of the bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Note: If you worry about using plastic wrap in your microwave, simply cover the bowl with a glass lid. I don’t microwave plastic at all, heated in a saucepan, poured into a bowl, covered and sat aside.
  3. When the fruit is cool, mix together all of the dough ingredients except the fruit, and knead, using an electric mixer or bread machine, till the dough is soft and elastic. Mix in the fruit and any liquid not absorbed.
  4. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, covered. It should become puffy, though may not double in bulk.
  5. Divide the dough into billiard ball-sized pieces, about 3 3/4 ounces each. A heaped muffin scoop (about 1/3 cup) makes about the right portion. You’ll make 12 to 14 buns. Use your greased hands to round them into balls. Arrange them in the prepared pan.
  6. Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for 1 hour, or until they’ve puffed up and are touching one another. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Now this is not included in the recipe but I saw several that all do this, with a knife or razor blade slice a cross on top of each bun, not a deep cut really just the surface only.
  7. Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it over the buns.
  8. Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.
make sure they cool completely before adding the cross

make sure they cool completely before adding the cross

  1. Mix together the icing ingredients, and when the buns are completely cool, pipe it in a cross shape atop each bun.
These hot cross buns are delicious.

These hot cross buns are delicious.