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Captain America & His English Rose: Hot Cross Buns

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hot Cross Buns

Since moving to California there are a few British foods that I really miss, many of them are seasonal delicacies, which to British people is standard fare, but here in the US, they are often impossible to find.  It is one of my aims to try and recreate these delicacies, so as not to miss out an some of my favorite British traditions.

Hot Cross Buns are one of those traditions!

In England, you an find these everywhere from about the middle of February until just after Easter.  They come on various 'flavors', but are all basically the same-delightful buns which when toasted and dripping in butter on a usually cold day with a cup of tea make the world seem like a better (and warmer!) place!  Click here for more information about Hot Cross Buns.
I have really missed these over the past few years, and although not one of the most common British foods, is a a hidden and often neglected delights!

My one issue with making these is yeast.  Yeast and I are not friends.  We do not get on!  Whenever i have tried to make anything in the past with yeast it has been a disaster.....mainly because the yeast did not 'activate' and rise when it was supposed to and I have been left with slightly hard, small, yeasty tasting buns that were generally very disappointing!

I was determined not to be beaten (but to be honest I totally expected the same to happen again!), so I decided to follow a trusted recipe from an exceptional cook to the letter (well almost!) and pray for the best results! AND IT WORKED!!!! I was so excited I actually did a happy dance in the kitchen.....Captain America was a little bewildered by my delight but he has missed all my prior mishaps! Thank you Pioneer Woman - you saved the day and the war against yeast was won!

The changes I made were as follows:
I wanted proper crosses on my buns....in the UK, the crosses are made out a dough and are white so they stand out significantly from the rest of the bun, highlighting the cross.  All the recipes I found in the US, seem to use icing to make the crosses....but I wanted mine to be as genuinely British as possible.

The second change was I added different kinds of dried fruit.  I added dried blueberries and cranberries just to add a new dimension to the flavor. I love raisins, but Captain America despises them, so I made a few without raisins too!


Here's what you need to do:


Combine 2 cups milk, oil, and 1/2 C sugar in a saucepan.


Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.


Sprinkle yeast over mixture.


Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine.



Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour. (Don't you love the dish towel.....it was a wedding gift! #heritagereminder)


In the meantime, the dough will have risen....woo hoo!


Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.


If required, kneed the dough a little to get it to combine fully.


On a lightly floured surface, kneed the dough a little until it is fully combined and easy to work with.


In a separate bowl, combine 1/4 C sugar with all the spices.


Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. 


Sprinkle on about a third of the dried fruit. 


Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/fruit process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)


At this point my dough was quite wet from the fruit, if yours is too, add a little flour and kneed for a few minutes until the dough is drier and not sticky.


Pinch off golf ball-size bunches of dough.


With floured hands, roll it into a ball. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.



Using a sharp knife, cut crosses into the tops of the buns



In a small bowl, mix 1 C of flour and slowly add warm water until the mixture is a thick, sticky paste (it become quite elastic and sticks to everything!!!!



Transfer the mixture to a small ziplock bag, seal the bag removing all the air, and snip a small hole in the corner of the bag.




Pipe the mixture into the crosses on the buns. This is quite fiddly and messy but it's worth the effort for the final 'look' of the buns.


Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.



Bake at 400F for around 20 minutes or until tops of buns have turned golden brown.

Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.






Ingredients

Yield: around 24 buns

2 C Milk
1/2 C canola or vegetable oil
1/2 C sugar
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) Active Dry Yeast
4 C All-purpose Flour
1/2 C (additional) Flour
1/2 tsp (heaped) Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Salt
1/4 C Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup Raisins, dried blueberries and cranberries (or any combination)
Glaze:
1 egg white
Splash of milk
Crosses:
1 C flour
Warm water

Directions:

To make the buns:

Combine 2 cups milk, oil, and 1/2 C sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.

Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/4 C sugar with all the spices.

On a lightly floured surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the dried fruit. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/fruit process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)

Pinch off golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, roll it into a ball. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
For the crosses:

Using a sharp knife, cut crosses into the tops of the buns

In a small bowl mix 1 C of flour and slowly add warm water until the mixture is a thick, sticky paste (it become quite elastic and sticks to everything!!!!

Transfer the mixture to a small ziplock bag, seal the bag removing all the air, and snip a small hole in the corner of the bag.

Pipe the mixture into the crosses on the buns. This is quite fiddly and messy but it's worth the effort for the final 'look' of the buns.

For the glaze:

Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.

Bake at 400F for around 20 minutes or until tops of buns have turned golden brown.

Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Serve warm or toasted with butter and/or preserves! Delicious!


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2 Comments:

At March 19, 2013 at 9:31 AM , Anonymous Alison Kelly said...

Actually they started selling them in the shops on 2nd January. Yours look delicious so it's a pity I can't taste them!!

 
At March 19, 2013 at 10:45 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

You can taste them......just follow the steps and make your own! You know you want to!! :-)

 

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