Description
Real hot cross buns have the cross baked into them, not piped on afterwards. These are studded with rum-soaked currants. I based my recipe on one I found on Anson Mills’ web site.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried currants
- ¼ cup rum, or as needed to cover currants
- ¾ cup milk, warmed to 100 degrees F/40 degrees C
- 3 cups bread flour, divided, or as needed
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 7 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, or as needed to make thin, pipe-able dough
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Place currants in a small bowl. Heat rum until steaming in a small pan and pour over currants to soften them
- about 2 hours. Drain; reserve liquid for another use.
- Whisk warm milk
- 1/4 cup flour
- and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit about 15 minutes to ensure yeast is active; small bubbles should start to rise to the surface. Add sugar
- beaten egg
- lemon and orange zest
- cinnamon
- salt
- cardamom
- nutmeg
- melted butter
- and most of the remaining flour (you might not need it all). Mix with a dough hook attachment until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and becomes slightly elastic
- 5 or 6 minutes. Continue kneading until dough is soft and shiny
- about 10 minutes. Remove dough from dough hook and shape into a ball. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface.
- Flatten dough into a large oval about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle currants evenly over surface of dough. Fold dough into thirds. Turn and fold into thirds again. Reshape dough into a round ball. Transfer to lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a relatively warm
- draft-free place until double in size
- about 2 hours.
- Poke dough down a bit with your fingertips. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten out dough into an even shape. Divide into 16 equal pieces using a bench scraper.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
- Roll each piece of dough into a round ball. Arrange evenly on prepared baking sheet. Let rise 15 minutes.
- Mix 1/4 cup water and 1/3 cup flour together in a mixing bowl until mixture is thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to pipe. Transfer mixture to a piping bag.
- After buns have risen 15 minutes
- pipe a cross on top of each. Let rise until doubled from original dough balls
- another 15 or 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Transfer pan to preheated oven. Bake until golden brown
- about 15 minutes.
- Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to thicken
- or until it reaches a temperature of 225 degrees F. Remove from heat.
- Let buns cool on a rack for 5 minutes before glazing. Brush glaze lightly over the tops of the buns.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 16