Hot Cross Buns for Easter :)

I always toyed with the idea of making Hot Cross Buns for Easter, but this year it was a necessity, I forgot to buy them and thought all the shops would be closed today. Reasoning that you can't possibly not have Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, it looked like the time had come for homemade.

This is not an enormous hot cross bun shown in the picture, I also made a rye, linseed and sunflower seed loaf at the same time. Though, that's not a bad idea....




Ingredients:

Buns:
4 cups of plain strong white bread flour
2 sachets of dry yeast (14 grams)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of soft brown sugar
300 grams of natural youghurt
1/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 cup of mixed dried fruit

Crosses & glaze:
1/2 cup of plain flour
1/3 cup of water
marmalade

* Place butter in a saucepan over low heat until melted, add yoghurt and milk and heat until just warm, do not heat past this point.

* Mix all other ingredients except the egg and the fruit in a large bowl.

* Add butter/yoghurt/milk mixture to the bowl.

* Lightly beat the egg and add that to the bowl.

* Mix until dough has just formed and then add the fruit.

* Knead until smooth and elastic (squash it with the palm of your hand, fold in half, turn a quarter turn clockwise and repeat- for about 10 minutes).

* Form a ball and place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow to sit in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour).

* Punch fist into the centre of the dough and knead for only a minute, too much kneading at this point will make the dough tough and it won't rise as well.

* Divide in half and again until you have 16 equal portions.

* Without working them too much, form each portion into a rough ball.

* Grease a slice tin (approx 28cm long x 18cm wide x 3cm deep) with butter. Place portions in neat rows in the tin.

* Cover and set aside to rise again in a warm place for about another hour.

* Once the buns have doubled in size again, make the mixture for the crosses. Mix the flour and water together into a smooth paste (get rid of any lumps). Place in a piping bag fitted with a medium plain tube and slowly pipe the paste in long lines across the buns to form crosses.

* Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, or until the tops have started to turn golden brown.

* Brush the tops with marmalade to make them glossy.

Absolutely the best fresh from the oven with butter, enjoy and Happy Easter!