Hot Cross Buns
Why I Love This Recipe
My husband and I often try to make recipes of things we had growing up in Australia, that we can't easily find in the USA. Hot Cross Buns was a variation on our French Bread, that my husband came up with a few easters ago. We love them!
Ingredients You'll Need
2 1/2 c warm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast
6-7 c bread flour
3/4 tbsp salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tbsp oil
1 cup Raisins
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
Mix water, yeast and 1 tbsp sugar together and let sit 5 minutes.
Add oil, salt and flour (Start with 6 cups), and 1/2 cup of sugar.
Stir until dough holds together.
Knead until smooth. (5 minutes with dough hook, you want the dough cleaning the sides but with some sticking on the bottom)
Add raisins, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, then knead for another 2-3 minutes.
Knead dough a little by hand until it is smooth and elastic.
Put in greased bowl and let rise 10 minutes.
Punch down. (Punch middle in and bring in all the sides and punch the big air bubbles out of each part)
Let the dough rise 5 minutes and punch down again. (do 5 punch downs all together)
Divide into 32 pieces and roll into balls (24 fit well on a 15"x10" stone bar pan)
Let rolls rise for 20 minutes or until double in size.
Mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water into a smooth paste and pipe in a cross shape on top of rolls - plus shape, not X-shaped
Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until tops are golden brown and rolls sound hollow.
Remove rolls from oven, and make a glaze of lemon juice and icing sugar.
Brush on glaze while rolls are hot and allow them to cool.
If rolls are a few days old, cut them in half and toast them, then spread on some butter and enjoy.
