Friday, April 02, 2010

Hot Cross Buns (II)

On the first day of Lent and during the six weeks that follows up to Easter, many bakeries and Christian homes make Hot Cross Buns. This bread is generally served during the Good Friday. As usual I will make this for our Good Friday every year. This recipe makes 9 buns and I added some dried fruits to it. It is good eaten as it is or with some butter. To those who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter to all of you.

Ingredients:

285 grm flour
12 grm milk powder
7 grm yeast
1 tsp cinnamon powder
30 grm sugar
1 tsp of orange zest
½ tsp salt
70 ml of milk
1 egg
75 grm water roux (refer to the recipe below)
50 grm soft butter
1 cup of dried fruits – any kind

Egg wash:

1 egg + 3 tbsp water (beaten)

For the Water Roux:

250 ml water
50 grm flour

Icing for the Crosses:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Prepare the water roux , mix the flour and water together and cook it on medium heat until it reach the temperature of 150 degree F. Remove from heat and cover it loosely with a plastic wrap and let it cool completely before using
2. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer with hook attachment, mix all the ingredients together except for the butter and dried fuits. Mix and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If the dough is too sticky add extra flour (1 tbsp) at a time to the dough.
3. Mix in the dry fruits and butter and continue to knead until smooth. Lightly oil the bowl, cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest at a warm place until double in size. This will take 1 ½ to 2 hours.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F, greased and lines an 8” x 8” square baking pan.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough, shape the dough into a log and cut into 9 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and put it into the baking pan. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place until almost doubled in size.
6. Brush the top with some egg wash and bake until golden brown. Transfer to the cooling rack and let it cool completely.
7. For the glaze, mix the sugar and lemon juice together until well combined. Put the glaze in a piping bag and pipe thick cross on top of the buns.

17 comments:

Cat Cat said...

Oh YUM... I love homemade hotbuns and breads. YUM YUM!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Gert, Homemade buns are the best for us, this look so beautiful. By the way, are you using High protein flour or all purpose flour?

shereen said...

Very cantik.Boys commented too many dried fruits...lol!Nice texture.Happy Easter to you and Carlos.

Elin Chia said...

Gertrude,
Happy Easter to you and Carlos. Great buns. So fluffy :)) salivating now...long time I have not made any buns..thanks for reminding me :)

MaryMoh said...

Perfect homemade bread. The texture looks so soft and delicious. I can eat a few!

Jo said...

These buns look really good. I too made a batch yesterday afternoon.

K.Nor said...

hi there gert.. tq for dropping by.. i do admire ur blog.. full of marvellous recipe.. & i've tried ur mango panna cotta few days ago and it's so yummy.. tq again..

Beachlover said...

Gert,your hotcross bun texture look soft and moist.I didn't know hotcross bun is for Good friday,no wonder our local supermarket had this bun on sale.I bought a pack at $1.45 ,thought it's cheap but the texture is so rough and hard. it's doesn't taste good at all..too bad no one will eat.what a waste!

ICook4Fun said...

Cat, actually it is not difficult to make it yourself.

Sonia, yes they are. I just used the normal unbleached all purpose flour.

Shereen, thank you. Tell the boys fruits are good for them. Happy Easter to you and your family too.

Elin, Happy Easter to you and your family too. Yes the water roux makes the bread really soft and fluffy.

Mary, thank you.

Jo, looking forward to your posting.

K Nor, thank you so much for your support. Glad that you tried out the panna cotta.

Lesley, yes we eat hot cross buns on the holy week especially good friday. You should try making bread using the water roux method as it give the bread a very soft texture.

Sathya, thank you.

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Lovely and soft hot cross buns. I think the water roux method is amazing. Happy Easter!

Quinn said...

Happy Easter to you, Carlos and Diana gert. As usual, the pic looks great and the buns must ahve tasted warm, soft and delicious! Great job Gert!

FC88 said...

Yum, I can imagine how good these are warm with butter .. Happy Easter to you!

WendyinKK said...

Happy Easter to you too.

Food For Tots said...

I love water roux method. Your buns look so soft and fluffy. Must taste great too. ;)

petite nyonya said...

The texture looks awesome! I am hardly good when it comes to making bread or buns etc :(

Bren said...

This is so perfect. Wish I had made it too :)

ICook4Fun said...

Ju, yea water roux is a great method to use. You get really soft bread.

Quinn, thank you.

FC88, yes extremely good with butter ha ha..

Wendy, Happy Easter to you too.

Food for tots, yes it is :)

Joslyn, I am not good at making bread either but practice do make perfect :)

Mysweetkitche, thank you.