So I was sitting around on Easter, because of my heathen leanings I was barely aware that it was Easter, when I started to get a load of phone calls from family members wishing me happy Easter and telling tales of baked hams and homemade sweet Easter cheeses. It suddenly felt very inadequate to sit around and eat salmon and brown rice while watching reality tv.
I remembered something that could potentially save the day. I had recently seen a show where Paul Hollywood and this adorable old British dame make a few really fusty British Easter recipes--including a huge pavlova with lemon custard and little egg white nests stuffed with chocolate eggs. Most of these recipes were dubious and impractical, full of marzipan, dates, currants, sugared primrose, and handmade puff pastry. They took hours and appeared to be throwbacks to a time when sugar was so scarce that, on special occasions, bakers would throw every single sweet thing available into a cake and assemble it in the most impractical/religiously symbolic way possible. The only recipe that looked even remotely appealing was for hot cross buns. I love baking bread and I love cinnamon. These would surely save my Easter at the last minute.
Here is a photo of the lemon curd pavlova from the program.
They did turn out beautifully. I felt very festive and connected to all other bakers and home cooks who must have also been baking this recipe on Easter. Again, be wary of my metric conversion. It helps if you have done bread before and you can recognize when the dough is too dry or wet. I omitted raisins (or 'sultanas' as they are adorably referred to in the program) because there is no reason to ruin a perfectly good bun with a failed grape. I added quite a large granny smith apple for tartness. I also doubled the cinnamon and added ground ginger. Make it to your taste of course! Many reviewers of the recipe said it could use more spice so keep that in mind.
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
for the buns:
1 1/4 c. full fat milk
3 1/2tablespoons of butter
2 c. white flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 tablespoon oil
7g yeast sachet
1 egg beaten
zest of 1 orange
1 apple peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg
for the cross:
1/3 c. of flour
water
optional glaze:
3 tablespoons apricot jam, heated and strained
Directions:
1. Bring the milk to boil, remove from heat and add the butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.
2. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heel of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.
3. With the dough still in the bowl, tip in the apple, zest, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hour more, or until doubled in size.
4. Divide the dough into 15 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover, but don't wrap with more cling film, prove for 1 hr more.
5. Heat oven to 400F. Mix the flour with about 5 tablespoons of water to make the paste for the cross. Mix it into a thick paste and spoon the paste into a ziplock bag, snip a tiny hole in the tip and pipe the cross across all buns. Bake for 12-15 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven until golden brown.
6. Optional: Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of warm buns and leave to cool.
