recipe | hot cross bun

I used to make hot cross buns three or four times before easter, but in the last couple of years I haven't had the time or the recipe. With the return of my oven this week, I knew I needed to get back into the kitchen, so what better way than with hot cross buns on Good Friday!

choc chip cross buns

Ingredients for buns
4 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp salt
60g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar (fine sugar)
7g dry yeast (1 sachet)
1/2 cup sultanas or currants or choc chips
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup lukewarm water
1 egg

1 - Sift flour, spice and salt into a bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar, yeast and sultanas (currants or choc chips). Add water, milk and egg. Stir gradually.
2 - Turn dough out and knead until smooth and elastic. Place into greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in warm place for 1-1.5hr, until double in size.
3 - Lightly pat dough out to 3cm (1in) thick. Cut into 14 pieces. Roll into balls, and place on greased tray. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 20-30min.
4 - preheat oven to 200°C

Ingredients for crosses
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup water
(I added a teaspoon of cocoa powder to make my chocolate crosses)

1 - mix ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Spoon into piping bag or ziploc bag and pipe a cross on each bun.

Bake buns for 15min or until golden.

Ingredients for glaze
2Tbs hot water
1Tbs sugar
1/4tsp gelatine

1 - combine ingredients in a small bowl. Brush over the buns. Stand near turned off oven until dry.

My notes
I omitted step 5 of the buns method (brushing the tops with a beaten egg)
I used a whole packet of Cadbury dark chocolate baking chips
I baked two batches - both batches took almost 30 minutes to bake. I also got over 20 buns from each batch, and would make them even smaller next time.
I brushed the glaze on the buns as soon as I took them out of the oven.

hot cross buns

 Recipe from Margaret Fulton via Woolworths Fresh magazine