Easter is here!

When I was a kid I was always looking forward the next special occasion because I knew my mom and my grandma would cook something good and I’d get to be the official taster 😊 Now, as an adult, I do the same, I look for recipes for every occasion!

I discovered hot cross buns about 3 years ago. The moment I saw the recipe I was already in love. The combination of spices, the fruits… so aromatic! I LOVE these buns! Bread, sweet fruits and spices all together? Uhmm.. yeah!

I have seen many videos and recipes and I have found a common “problem”, and that’s the lack of a proper gluten network. The tricky part of this recipe, in my opinion, is the kneading process. It takes a bit of time to develop the gluten network, it’s an enriched dough and therefore, not easy. This recipe has a good amount of wet ingredients, I found that increasing the liquid and fat content a little bit can go a long way. It’s a bit of a long process to get the dough ready, but boy! The result is AMAZING! The buns are SUPER SOFT and they last fresh much longer.

HOW SHOULD YOU KNEAD ENRICHED DOUGH?

Well… being patient is a must, with butter, eggs, and sugar in the middle, developing the gluten network is more difficult, so take your time. If you’re using a stand mixer, don’t knead too fast. You can start with the paddle attachment until the dough starts to come off the bowl sides and rolls upon the paddle, then change to the hook attachment. My stand mixer has 10 speeds and I use the paddle attachment at speed 2-3 and then the hook attachment at speed 3-4.

I’d suggest you knead for 10 minutes and then let the dough rest for 3-5 minutes. Then knead again, and rest again. It helps the gluten proteins 😉

WHY DOES GLUTEN NEED TO REST?

Gluten proteins get tired of being kneaded, basically. And it’s difficult for them to keep linking each other. When we knead the dough, we facilitate the interactions between the gluten strands, but at the same time, the long chains get somehow tangled. So, when we let the dough rest, what happens is that these chains reorganize and realign. It’s like a ball of yarn, when it’s tangled you can’t do anything with it, but when it’s properly rolled you can keep taking the yarn out of it.

Enriched doughs need longer kneading times, that means the gluten proteins are going to be under a lot of stress. Let them rest a little and save time in the long run.

WHAT ABOUT THESE BUNS?

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Let’s get into this delicious recipe!

NOTE: if you’re using cow milk, boil it for a couple of minutes and let it cool down until it’s lukewarm. Boiling the milk will break down some enzymes that, otherwise, could weaken the gluten network. Boil more milk than the amount in the recipe because some of it will evaporate as it heats up.

As always, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and let it sit for a few minutes. You can add a pinch of sugar and when the mixture is frothy, the yeast is active!

Add the eggs, sugar, and spices to the yeast mixture and give it a good whisk. I like to add the spices to the liquid ingredients because I think they can infuse more aromas this way. But if you prefer to mix them with the flour it’s fine too.

Then add the sifted flour and combine everything until you don’t see dry flour particles. You should have a sticky mess, a bit runny even.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. This step will allow the flour particles to hydrate so the gluten proteins are at full strength when you start kneading.

After the autolysis period, add the salt and start kneading.

When the dough starts being elastic add the softened butter and keep kneading.

When the dough is elastic enough (it should be smooth), add the dry fruits and knead just enough to integrate all the fruits.

Make a ball with the dough and place it in a lightly oiled container. It’s better to use vegetable or canola oil, because they have milder flavors than, for example, olive oil.

NOTE: the dough should pass the windowpane test. Let the dough rest 5 minutes before checking it. If you can see some of the fruits through the dough and it doesn’t tear apart, that’s a good sign of proper gluten development.

HOW TO PREPARE THE FRUITS

Typically, this recipe calls for raisins, but I like to add a bit of everything. You can add candied orange, dry apricots, candied green cherries…

The night before (preferably), or at least a few hours before, mix the raisins (and other very dry fruits you might use) with about ¼ cup of some liquid. You can use tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, or even rum or sherry if you don’t mind the alcohol. Close the container and shake it every now and then to make sure all the fruits get to soak some liquid. Strain the fruits before adding them to the dough. You don’t want to incorporate too much liquid to the dough.

ROOM TEMPERATURE VS. OVERNIGHT FERMENTATION

If you want to bake the buns the same day, let the dough rise at room temperature until it has almost doubled in size, deflate it very well and knead it for 1 minute to get rid of big air pockets.

If you prefer to do a cold fermentation let the dough ferment at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then transfer it to the fridge and let it rise overnight. The next morning take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a little bit (30mins to 1h, depending on the temperature of your kitchen), deflate it very well and knead it for 1 minute.

Line a 16x12in (40x30cm) with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 pieces of similar weight.

NOTE: I had to use a smaller pan and bake the other 3 buns apart because I forgot my 16×12 pan was in the freezer! 😊

Cover it with plastic wrap and let the buns rise until they look puffy and they increased in size. They don’t need to double in size necessarily, just make sure the dough feels puffy, not hard. The buns should touch each other too.

MAKE THE CROSS AND PREPARE THE BUNS FOR BAKING

***preheat your oven at 375F (190C)***

To prepare the paste just mix the all-purpose flour, icing sugar and milk. It must be a pest. So, it’s better to add the milk little by little until you have the right consistency. The amount of milk depends on the flour you use, play around with the ratio as long as you end up with a paste.

Now that the paste is ready, let’s finish up these buns! Prepare the egg wash, and brush the buns with it BEFORE you pipe the cross. I emphasize before, because I didn’t do it and brushing the buns when the cross was already there was tricky, to say the least!

With a piping bag, make the crosses. Don’t be afraid! I know there’s a lot of pressure but don’t let the piping part intimidate you 😊

Place the buns in the preheated oven and let them bake until they have a nice golden brown color. If your oven doesn’t bake evenly, turn the pan 180 degrees halfway.

When ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool down for 5 minutes before you take them out of the pan.

Enjoy!