#auslaw Hot Cross Buns

Makes

22 buns

Ready In:

3 hrs 30 mins

Inroduction

About this Recipe

Impress your friends and family, improve you #auslaw Twitter street cred and discover a new skill that you can practice to avoid writing your submissions. 

This recipe requires advanced cooking skills and some time but is well worth the effort. 

Ingredients

  1. Dried Fruit Mix

320g mixed dried fruit (or make your own)

100 ml water

Place in a heatproof bowl or dish, cook for 3 minutes in a microwave on high. Set aside.

  1. Tangzhong Mix

75g bread flour

375g of milk

Place in a small saucepan and whisk. Cook on medium heat (whisking the whole time) until boiling. Take immediately off heat and cool until lukewarm.

  1. Yeast Mix

14g of yeast (dried – 2 sachets)

1Tbsp of flour

50ml of milk (warmed – blood temperature)

Mix together and set aside in a warm spot. The yeast should grow and the mixture froth and become solid) 

  1. Flour Mix

660g bread flour

55g caster sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp mixed spice ( I use Gewurhaus Spekulaas spice mix)

1 tsp salt

Mix together in a large stand mixer bowl OR in a large mixing bowl

  1. Butter/Egg Mix

80g salted butter – softened

50ml milk (warmed – blood temperature)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste (or vanilla essence)

  1. Flour Paste

75g flour

80 ml water

Mix together until smooth – pass through a sieve if needed. Set aside to pipe onto buns in the final proofing stage.

  1. Glaze

4 Tbsps caster sugar

1/3 cup of water

1 tsp of vanilla essence/rum/bourbon/whisky

Mix together in a heatproof bowl, cook in the microwave on high for 4 minutes. Paint onto cook buns straight after they come out of the oven.

Method

Complete mixes 1-6 (as listed)

Place flour mix, dried fruit mix, tangzhong mix (lukewarm), yeast mix and butter/egg mix in the large bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook OR in a large mixing bowl.

If using a stand mixer mix the ingredients using a dough hook on low (1) and mix until well kneaded (5-7 minutes). You will need to scrape the sides down halfway through the kneading. The dough will be quite sticky and wet (don’t freak out)! Using a scraper collect all the dough to form a ball in the stand mixer (it will be a wet and sticky giant ball).

If using a mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients together using a wooden spoon until well combined. Using damp hands knead the dough until the non-fruit parts of the dough are elastic and smooth (see the picture). This could take as long as 10 minutes. Form the dough into a large ball.

Cover stand mixer bowl or mixing bowl with glad wrap and a tea towel and place in warm location to prove. Prove for 1-1 ½ hours until doubled in size.

Once risen knock down using damp hands or a wooden spoon – remove the dough from bowl or mixer.

Line a large baking tray (or two) with baking paper.

Divide into 22 80g balls. This is easier if you use a digital scale. Place the balls on the train in a grid with 2cm between each ball. Cover with glad wrap and a tea towel and place in a warm location to prove. Prove for 45min-1hr until doubled in size.

Heat a fan forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Make Flour Paste (6) and pipe crosses onto buns. You can use a small piping bag or a squeezy bottle to pipe the crosses.

Place buns in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and springy.

While the buns are cooking make the glaze (7). Immediately the buns come out of the oven paint (using a silicone pastry brush) the glaze onto the buns. You should have enough glaze to do two coats.

Let cool and serve with salted butter.