Hot Cross Buns

I have one word for these - Delish!  The recipe comes from Rachel at The Traveling Spoon who spent an exorbitant amount of time searching for the traditional Hot Cross Buns of her childhood in England.  Rachel is a purist and says these are the real deal.  She also says traditional hot cross buns never have icing crosses, but rather crosses that are made of a sweetened flour paste that is piped on just before baking.  These buns are excellent warm from the oven or gently heated the next day.  I'm posting the recipe as written, but I'll share my notes for using a stand mixer in the recipe below.

Note - The only thing I'd change next time would be to use dried currants instead of raisins because currants are smaller and would distribute more evenly throughout the dough. 

ITEMS USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

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• professional stand mixer https://amzn.to/3II3lxv

• commercial cake pan https://amzn.to/2JRJJNR

• oven thermometer https://amzn.to/34dozUQ

• disposable pastry bags https://amzn.to/2FEd9cX

• pastry decorating tips/tubes https://amzn.to/2FKbpQw

• my favorite plastic wrap https://amzn.to/2U7fur3

• whisks https://amzn.to/2K2d2gy

• apricot jam https://amzn.to/2WBOg8B

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Traditional Hot Cross Buns

makes 12 buns

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the buns:

• 310ml warmed milk

• 60g granulated sugar

• 16g dried yeast (about 4 teaspoons)

• 600g all-purpose flour, sifted

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 2 large eggs

• 60g butter, room temperature

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups dried currants

For the crosses:

• about 60g all-purpose flour

• about 60 ml water

• 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For the glaze:

• 2 tablespoons fruit jam, warmed (apricot recommended)

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, warmed milk, and yeast until sugar has dissolved. Cover loosely and set aside for 10 minutes or until mixture becomes frothy - it should almost triple in size, so be patient!

2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Rub the softened butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until evenly distributed (I prefer doing this in a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). The mixture will be crumbly. Stir in the egg, frothy yeast mixture and the dried currants until completely combined.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it comes together and becomes smooth and elastic. Add flour to your kneading surface as necessary. Lightly grease another large, clean mixing bowl (I knead in the stand mixer on speed 1 or 2 for five minutes).

4. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it several times to coat lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, non-drafty place for about 45 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

5. When dough has doubled, remove the plastic wrap and punch down the dough (don't be shy - you can really thwack it). Knead briefly, on your lightly floured surface, until smooth. Separate the dough into 12 even rounds.

6. Shape each round into a bun and place in a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 390°F.

7. Whisk together the 60g of all purpose flour, the sugar, and the water to create the paste for the crosses. Add flour if necessary to thicken so that the paste can be easily piped onto the buns - use a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a small hole cut in one corner.  Pipe crosses onto the buns and bake for 10 minutes at 390°F. Then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped - don't worry, they will soften after baking.

8. Warm the jam for the glaze and dilute with water if necessary. Brush onto buns while still warm.

9. Buns are best eaten warm from the oven or freshly toasted on the day of baking, but they're also tasty cold and you can store any leftovers in an air-tight container for a day or two.

adapted from The Traveling Spoon via Citrus and Candy

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Orange Rolls

Hello Friends!  Fellow blogger Laura Powell from Real Mom Kitchen has just completed a cookbook - Congratulations Laura!!  Her blog is full of tempting recipes and her cookbook doesn't fail to do exactly the same.  I chose to make Laura's yummy 'Mom's Orange Rolls' to share with you today.  Laura writes, "This recipe is one of my absolute, all-time favorite roll recipes.  This recipe comes from my mom and she's been making them as long as I can remember.  These rolls often make it to the Thanksgiving dinner table.  The dough is made the night before and kept in the fridge."

"With easy recipes from the award-winning blog Real Mom Kitchen, you can play chauffeur and still have a homemade dinner with your family. Using real food that real people eat, Laura Powell shares her convenient and yummy recipes so that you too can be "Keepin' it real in the kitchen." They're sure to be loved by the whole family"!

Mom's Orange Rolls

makes 24 rolls

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 2 packages yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 cup hot water

• 2 teaspoons fine salt

• 3 eggs, beaten

• 4-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 1/2 cup sugar

• pinch of fine salt

• zest of 1 orange

Frosting:

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 4-6 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine water and yeast; let sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan; add sugar and hot water.

3. Combine butter mixture with yeast mixture, then add in eggs and flour until well combined.

4. Cover bowl well with plastic wrap and let dough rest in the refrigerator overnight.

5. The next day, spray muffin pan(s) with Baker's Joy.

6. Divide dough into two equal portions.

7. On a lightly floured (or oiled) surface, roll each ball of dough into a 9x13-inch rectangle.

8. Mix together filling ingredients and spread mixture evenly over both rectangles.

9. Roll up dough from one long side to the other long side.

10. Cut each roll into 12 pieces and place in a greased muffin pan; rise 3-4 hours (preheat oven to 375F at least 30 minutes before baking)

11. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

12. Allow to cool slightly before removing orange rolls from pan(s).

13. In a small bowl, whisk together frosting ingredients and spread on top of warm rolls.

Notes

• The dough is very soft, but it will firm and be more workable after chilling overnight in the fridge.  I like to roll my dough on a lightly oiled surface instead of a floured surface. 

• The recipe can easily be divided in half for a smaller batch.

adapted from Real Mom Kitchen Cookbook by Laura Powell