Homemade Hot Cross Buns
Fluffy, soft, sweet and spicy hot cross buns
Ingredients
Bun Dough
- 100 ml warm milk
- 1 pkt instant yeast
- 1½ tsp granulated sugar
- 80 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 80 ml buttermilk
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tsp brandy
- 100 g sultanas
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3½ cups cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground all spice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
Floured Cross
- ½ cup cake flour
- 5 tbsp water
Glaze
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Place the sultanas in a bowl and add orange juice and brandy. Microwave for 30 - 40 seconds. Let it soak in the liquid to plump up.
- Add the milk, granulated sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl - give it a stir and let the mixture sit for 10 - 15 minutes until the yeast blooms.
- Add the dough hook attachment to your stand mixer. (If you don't have a stand mixer then use a mixing bowl and spatula to mix the ingredients)
- To the yeast mixture, add the butter, eggs, vanilla essence and brown sugar and mix.
- Then add the flour, salt and spices and mix until the ingredients are mostly incorporated then add the buttermilk and continue to mix.
- Lastly mix in the drained sultanas and mix for 2 minutes.
- Increase to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes - alternative transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly oil greased bowl, cover with clingwrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm area for 1½ hours.
- Grease and line a 33x22cm baking pan or baking sheet.
- Shape the dough into a 12 equal sized balls (weighing about 90-95g each). Place on the baking pan/sheet leaving enough space in between.
- Cover the shaped balls with cling wrap and a kitchen towel and do a second rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Crack the egg and mix with water and brush each bun with egg wash.
- Mix the flour and water for the cross topping. Place in a piping bag/ziploc bag and snip a small piece off. Pipe a line through the centre of each bun and then pipe another line in the opposite direction to form the cross.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven let the buns cool for 5 minutes.
- For the glaze - add the apricot jam and water to a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds.
- Brush the glaze over the warm buns. Serve warm and enjoy.