Its rapidly approaching Easter !

I’ve been making these Hot Cross Buns for 4 years ! Last year I had just received my Cuisine Companion and was just learning the machine so I skipped making them.  Even though shops bring out Hot Cross Buns just after Christmas 😮 I refuse to make or eat them that early on ! The month leading up to Easter I am happy to make and consume them ! Anything other than that forget it !

So here we are and now that I’ve had my my Cuisine Companion for over a year it was time to crack my recipe out and get it converted for the CC ! so here it is !

1st ingredient list
250g milk
15 g Yeast

2cnd ingredient list
500 g Bakers Flour
2 tsp salt
70 g Butter ( melted ) or Oil
60 g sugar
1 Egg ( or use 30g Sour Cream, chia egg or egg replacer for those egg intolerant )
1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp of Ground Nutmeg
Small pinch of ground cloves

3rd ingredient list
80 – 90 g Sultanas (I used the natural sultanas)
40 – 50 g Cranberries

Method

*Using the Kneading / Crushing blade through out
-Put milk and yeast in bowl from 1st ingredient list, and cook for 50 seconds at 90 degrees on speed 3
-Add in the rest of the ingredients from 2cnd ingredient list  in the order as above.
-Combine on speed 10 for 10 seconds
-Start the Pastry Auto programme P1 for 2min 30 sec
-Add the Sultanas & Cranberries from the 3rd ingredient list and mix on speed 2 for 15-20 seconds then with a light spray of oil to your hands carefully remove the attachment from the top pulling the dough with it and grab the dough off with one of of your lightly oiled hands ( no sticking ! )
-Finish kneading either in your hands pushing the loose fruit in or on a mat if you can’t manage free hand.

-Shape into a ball, lightly spray a deep glass/ceramic bowl and put mix into it. Cover with glad wrap loosely and put in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hrs
-Tip out onto the mat
-Roll out into a square and cut into 16 pieces.
-Form into 16 small rolls and place on lined tray with rolls touching (see photos) To do this take a square tuck the corners under neath and pinch in the middle and then set down on your mat and shape into a round roll shape .
-Allow to rise for around 30mins or so until doubled

Next you need to pipe on some cross piping mix, you do this as below

Cross Piping Mix
8og plain flour
pinch salt
tsp olive oil
100g water

-Mix in a bowl with a fork until a pancake like mixture
-I use a small plastic bag. snip the tiniest hold in one corner and pipe over the buns in a continuous line
-To fill your bag – the easiest way is place it into a glass , mug and pull edges of bags over the side and fill.
-Put buns into  preheated oven on 200degrees for around 10-15 minutes

 

Next you want to get that sticky glossy glaze and you can do that by making up some sugar syrup as below

Sugar Syrup 
2tblsp water
2tblsp sugar

-Brush with the syrup when buns come out of oven

Eat and enjoy ! these freeze well, these toast well under the griller too ! I love a warmed Hot Cross Bun with lashings of my spreadable butter how about you ?