Chocolate Chai Spiced Hot Cross Buns
However, I was never quite satisfied with the recipes I created. Yesterday I thought why not add some chai spice instead of the usual spice that everyone uses. I thought it was an ingenius idea. Of course, thinking I was the only one that ever thought of it. After I finished baking them I thought let me google and check if mine is the first. Guess what it is not so ingenius after all. There are other recipes that has chocolate and chai but to be very honest I did not even look at them. The reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to be disappointed if I thought the other recipes were better. In my books mine is perfect and I am sticking with that. Nobody is going to burst my bubble because I don’t come up with ingenius ideas too often…let me bask in the glory…Lol! Did I tell you I am not a fan of raisins. It’s another reason I was so determined to make hot cross buns a different way. I have gotten better over the years and I do eat a little bit of raisins these days. But just don’t give me an overload of it. If I think there’s too much raisins in one place I definitely dig them out…haha! The only thing I eat without causing too much of a mess is my mom-in-laws Eggless Fruit Cake. It has raisins but the cake is so delicious that I honestly don’t even think of the raisins. Let’s get on with my Chocolate Chai Spiced Hot Cross Buns. Well if you’ve had a masala chai then you will already know what to expect with these Hot Cross Buns. For me the spice was just right, but if you want more spicy you can definitely add a little more. I tried to keep a balance between the chocolate and the chai spice. I didn’t want one overpowering the other and this seemed to have worked well.
Making the dough
For most of my bread recipes I stick to using cake wheat flour. Although often I do have bread flour in my pantry. The reason I do this is so that everyone can enjoy making the recipes I share. Cake wheat flour is something majority of us have in our pantries all the time. I also use instant dry yeast, the Anchor yeast in a purple packet. Let me just say I have never had a disaster with any of my breads using this yeast. Always make sure your yeast is fresh. If I open a packet of yeast and I don’t use all of it I store the leftover in the refrigerator to stay fresh. Most breads require a soft dough. Some may not but majority of the recipes are very similar. When you start making a bread dough it is almost always sticky. But never be tempted to add more flour. First knead for a few minutes and if you feel it is still far too sticky then add a little bit of flour. But in most instances that sticky dough turns into a silky smooth dough. Obviously if you use an electric mixer, which I don’t have right now, you knead for less time. By hand you knead for a longer time, usually about ten minutes. Kneading the dough makes bread light, airy and chewy. If the gluten is not well developed bread and rolls will be flat and hard. Therefore the kneading is important. There are recipes for no knead hot cross buns but personally I haven’t tried them.
Eggless
These hot cross buns are eggless which is great for vegetarians and those with egg allergies. If you want to turn this into a vegan option you can replace the butter with oil and use warm water instead of milk. You can also use a vegan chocolate.
Spices
I roasted and ground my own spices for the chai spice. If you wish to use a store bought chai spice you can perhaps try with about 2 teaspoons of spice. Roasting and grinding your own spices guarantees a fresh, aromatic spice mix.
More Bread Recipes to try: Easy Braided Bread Soft Brioche Hamburger Buns If you loved this, please share!
