If you enjoy spending time in the kitchen covered in flour and powdered sugar with hands smeared in butter, then here is a recipe you must try. Take a break from the standard brownie and cookie recipes. Pause on all cake baking as you make these delicious Hot Cross Buns from Ahead of Thyme.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally made at Easter, but you are certainly to enjoy these pastries all year long. You can make a batch of them to have throughout the week for breakfast with a warm, reviving cup of coffee as you head out the door for work. These buns are not too sweet, but definitely bring a scrumptious flavor and satisfy the appetite. Hot cross buns can be made with chocolate, though the classic hot cross bun recipe involves dried fruits. Ahead of Thyme’s recipe follows the traditional recipe, providing a sweet and spicy bun with raisins. If you are intimidated at the thought of making bread, then these buns are the perfect opportunity to test your skills at breadmaking.
Ingredients for Hot Cross Buns
- ¾ cup of milk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup of raisins
For the Cross
- ½ cup of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup of water
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoons of liquid honey
- 2 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
You might also like: Grab A Delicious Bite At Northside Social
Directions
The most important part of this recipe is the dough. It takes time, but it will yield a batch of buns that you can enjoy throughout the week. When you have a free weekend or weekday evening, you can get to work on creating these buns by first mixing the milk, yeast, sugar, salt, egg, butter, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl with a whisk until well-combined. Allow the mixture to sit for five minutes, so that the yeast can become active. You will then pour in the flour to the wet mixture. Stir until there is no visible dry flour.
Knead the dough on a clean surface for about ten minutes until the dough is no longer sticky, but smooth. Place the dough back in the bowl and grease the ball of dough gently with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for an hour. After the dough has doubled in size, you will punch it down with your fist to expel any air. Add raisins or the dried fruit of your choice to the dough and knead for several minutes to combine the dried fruit. Form the dough into a rectangle. You will then cut the rectangle with a knife into 12 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a ball and place onto a baking sheet that has been lined with either parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. As the oven in preheating, you will cover the pan with plastic wrap. Allow the buns to rise and double in size for 45 minutes. You will then make the cross that goes across the buns by mixing water and flour into a paste in a small bowl. Put the paste in a piping bag and pipe crosses on the buns. Bake the buns for around 25 minutes or until they are golden brown. You will make a glaze by combining the melted butter and honey. Brush the glaze on the buns as soon as they come out of the oven. Let the Hot Cross Buns cool on a baking rack for at least fifteen minutes before serving.