Hot Cross Buns
But as you all should know by now I am no quitter. Seeing how long my blog is going, despite the ups and downs should tell you something. In a couple of weeks I will be celebrating 6 years of blogging. I can’t believe I have been doing this for that long. Clearly I love what I do. If I didn’t I promise I would have quit. I am the kind of person that gets bored easily. But how can anyone get bored creating recipes and eating…haha! There’s something about making bread that gives me so much comfort. I honestly think I sold bread in my past life. Just the thought of working with dough makes me so happy. These Hot Cross Buns definitely put a smile on my face. My hubby popped home to drop off my son today and he is a sucker for freshly baked bread of any sort. You should have seen the smile on his face when I lathered some with butter and handed it to him. He ate two and said he could honestly eat more but he is watching his weight so he had to resist. And he eats them with butter and cheese. I am not sure about that combination or maybe I am just boring. I have many bread lovers in our home, including little Max, our naughty but oh so lovable Jack Russell. I baked another bread too. Max was standing in the kitchen growling at me until I gave him a piece of freshly baked bread with butter. Yes it has to have a spread of butter.
Lets talk about the Hot Cross Bun
I have seen so many recipes on the internet where the buns are huge. The ones I made are a normal size, at least what we call normal here in SA. So if it’s not enough for your family I suggest you make two batches. One batch which consists of 12 buns is enough for us. Because I am obsessed with simple, easy recipes I only use the dry instant yeast. I don’t have the patience for anything else. If you are using Active Dry Yeast it has to be dissolved in warm liquid and once it gets foamy you add in your dry ingredients. Fresh yeast gets crumbled and also dissolved in some liquid. This recipe uses basic ingredients, the only thing you may not have lying is probably some sultanas/raisins and if you’re not into spice then maybe you need to get that.
How to make Hot Cross Buns
Yes, making the buns is a little bit of a task but so worth it in the end. Firstly you will mix your dry ingredients together, then add your wet ingredients and the sultanas/raisins. You can knead the dough by hand, should take about 10-12 minutes. I use the stand mixer and it took me about 10 minutes. I personally feel kneading a little longer, not over kneading, does relax the gluten and the result is a soft, delicious Hot Cross Bun. Baking the Buns It take about 20-25 minutes to bake. Mine took 23 minutes to be exact. The buns will be golden brown on top. Once out the oven you can brush it with some apricot jam, that’s heated in the microwave for 20 seconds. This gives the buns a lovely glossy top.
I was trying to capture photos but didn’t realise my camera didn’t have a card in. So of course, I lost some of my best photos because half the buns was already eaten. In a few days I could have possibly made the Hot Cross Buns again and captured new photos. However, these photos is a reminder that life doesn’t always work out as perfectly as we want. Sometimes it’s ok to make mistakes and it’s also okay to show our imperfections. These photos will do until I decide I want to re-capture them. More Recipes to try: Easy Braided Bread Soft Brioche Hamburger Buns Easy Homemade Crescent Rolls
And this is our Max, looking very content with himself after demanding a piece of bread WITH butter. If you loved this, please share!
