Food for gay men: Hot Cross Buns

An Easter Favourite.

Food for gay men: Hot Cross Buns

Everyone loves Hot Cross Buns, right?

This is a fairly straightforward recipe, but it's important to realise that this takes some time - you're going to prove three times so the whole thing is going to take about four hours.

Next time, I'm going to try substituting some marmalade instead of the peel and the orange zest, and I'm not sure about the apple - I need to cut it finer next time and probably use a smaller apple.

Ingredients


For the buns

  • 300ml full-fat milk , plus 2 tbsp more
  • 50g butter
  • 500g strong bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • yeast (follow the instructions on the yeast to work out how much you need for 500g of flour)
  • 1 egg , beaten
  • 75g sultanas
  • 50g mixed peel
  • zest 1 orange
  • 1 apple , peeled, cored and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cross

  • 75g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

For the glaze

  • 3 tbsp apricot jam

Method

STEP 1

  • Bring 300ml full-fat milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add 50g butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature.
  • Put 500g strong bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 75g caster sugar and the yeast into a bowl.
  • Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add 1 beaten egg.
  • Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.

STEP 2

  • Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heal of the other hand, then folding it back on itself.
  • Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl.
  • Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.

STEP 3

  • With the dough still in the bowl, tip in 75g sultanas, 50g mixed peel, zest of 1 orange, 1 finely chopped apple and 1 tsp ground cinnamon.
  • Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hr more, or until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.

STEP 4

  • Divide the dough into 15 even pieces (about 75g per piece). Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface.
  • Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand.
  • Cover (but don’t wrap) with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for 1 hr more.

STEP 5

  • Heat oven to 200C fan/gas 7
  • Mix 75g plain flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross – add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle.
  • Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
  • Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.

STEP 6

  • Gently heat 3 tbsp apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks.
  • While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

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