Life on a Plate: Hot Crossed Buns. See How They Run

It's Easter and what is more traditional than hot cross buns?! In America, hot cross buns actually aren't that big of a thing. We are more along the lines of a Sunday brunch, Easter dinner, lots of golf, fat pants being needed from the incredible amounts of ham being eaten... you know, the usual. Since I regularly partake in these I thought I'd get a little creative and pretend I was competing off in the middle of a field, baking in the prettiest tent ever on The Great British Bake Off! Also, I've never made bread. So this will be quite the adventure. Also, I asked my younger niece today if she knew the song Hot Cross Buns and she didn't! Granted I don't know the exact words, but what's with kids these days? I always get the song mashed up with Three Blind Mice... which she didn't know of either. Being a good aunt, I let her have a listen. I don't think she was all that concerned about not knowing the songs. Sigh.

Once I got over my fear of bread making, I was off! I had done a lot of research on how to make these little buns and after a lot of looking around, I decided on what I thought was the best combination of ingredients. Here we go!

Buns

1 envelope of active dry yeast
1 cup milk
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 3 Tbs(floured cross)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbs orange zest
4 Tbs butter
2 eggs
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tsp cardamom
1 Tsp allspice
1/2 Tsp nutmeg

Egg Wash
1 egg
1 Tsp water

Glazed Cross
4 Tbs powdered sugar
2 Tsp lemon juice

1. In the microwave or slowly over the stove, warm the milk to 100F. *This step is very important, thus why I was afraid of making bread. The temperature has to be just right- too warm and you'll kill the yeast. Too cold and it won't activate. Only one thing to do now- wait and see if you did it correctly. Wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to bubble and foam and smell all delicious, then you'll know you did it right!*

2. Empty the packet of yeast into the milk along with 1 Tbs of the sugar, whisk to combine.

3. While waiting for the yeast to activate, gently melt the butter and set aside.

4. In the bowl of the mixer, combine the flour, spices, sugar, salt, and cranberries.

5. When the yeast has activated, whisk in the eggs and melted butter.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

7. Place the bowl into the mixing stand fitted with the dough hook.

8. Start this on the lowest speed to combine and let it knead for 4-5 minutes. The dough will eventually come together and start to pull away from the sides. *You are more than welcome to do this by hand, it will take about 10-15 minutes and you can get your workout in for sure.*
9. After about 4 minutes, add the cranberries. Mix again for another minute so everything is combined.

10. Once the dough has been properly kneaded, place it into a lightly greased bowl.

11. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is about doubled in size.

12. This is the fun part. When this rise is complete you can take out your aggression and give the dough a good punch to deflate it. Or if you have no beef with anyone and your life is nice and pleseant, simply press the dough down to knead.

13. Peel the dough out and give it a couple folds.

14. From here you can decide what you want to do with it- I got about 12 balls a little smaller than a baseball. If you want larger rolls, cut larger, if you want a sheet of buns, roll into a rectangle and score the dough.

15. After deciding how you'd like the rolls, position them on the baking sheet and cover again with a towel to rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

16. Now we are ready to get going! Preheat the oven to 375F.
17. To make the egg wash, mix an egg and a touch of water and brush on the buns- this will make them nice and golden as they bake.

18. Can't have hot cross buns without the cross! For this, make a paste out of the 3 Tbs of flour and some water to make a thick paste *Don't add too much water at once because it will become soup! I started with a tablespoon and judged from there. Place the paste into a baggie, cut the tip, and pipe the crosses on the buns.

19. When the oven reaches temperature, place the buns in for 20-25 minutes.
20. When the buns are done take them out and place on a rack to cool completely.
OPTIONAL- Now you a choice to make an additional cross on the buns with the glaze or just have the flour cross you did earlier- I did both. Sometimes you can't see the four cross as well after baking. If you chose the glaze route, when the buns have cooled, mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Depending on the humidity and such the measurements may differ- might have to add more sugar or less water- make good choices.

EAT!

I must confess, I had to make these twice. The first time I made them my dough was quite dry and weird, but I made them anyway. The flavor was good but the bun was way too dense and it just wasn't working. The second time worked like a charm and I'm glad to report that I'm now feeling confident enough to dip my toe in other kinds of bread making! I'm also thinking I could win star baker with these babies- Paul and Mary would be proud and then eventually I'd go on to win the competition with ease. One can dream.