Hot Cross Buns

From the blog For Love of the Table

454 g. (4 c.) all-purpose flour

75 g. (6 T.) sugar

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. allspice

2 T. warm water

7 g. (2 1/4 t.) instant or active dry yeast

1 large egg, beaten

240 g. (1 c.) whole milk, tepid

Zest of one orange

85 g. (6 T.) unsalted butter—cool but malleable, cut into 6 chunks

170 g. (1 c.) mixed dried and candied fruits (see notes)

1 egg beaten with 1 t. of water and a pinch of salt for egg wash

50 g. (1/2 c.) cake flour

50 g. (1/2 c. less 1 T.) all-purpose flour

40 g. (1/3 c.) powdered sugar

60 to 75 g. (4 to 5 T.) whole milk

28 g. (2 T.) water

25 g. (2 T.) sugar

Place the flour, sugar, salt and spices in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Place the water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for a minute or two to soften. Add the egg, milk, orange zest, and dry ingredients. Using the dough hook mix on low speed (no. 2 or 3) until the ingredients are homogenous (a minute or two). Increase the speed to medium (no. 4) and mix until the dough is just beginning to pull away from the sides—about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the butter while the mixer is still running and continue to mix for a minute or two, stopping to scrape down the sides a couple of times, until the butter is absorbed. Continue to knead until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl and is smooth, velvety and elastic—about 6 to 8 minutes. (The first time you make this, waiting for the dough to come together will be an act of faith. But eventually—and suddenly—it will. If your butter is warm...or very soft...it will take longer. Resist the temptation to add more flour. This is a soft sticky dough.)

Add the dried fruits and continue to mix until distributed throughout the dough.

Lightly butter a large bowl. Butter your hands. If the fruit is not well distributed, scrape the dough out of the mixing bowl and onto a lightly floured surface and use a bench scraper to help mix and fold until the fruit is spread uniformly throughout the dough. Using your (buttered hands) form the dough into a ball by stretching the surface around to the bottom four or five times, rotating the ball of dough after each stretch. Place the ball in the buttered bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at a warm room temperature until doubled in bulk—about two hours. (At this point you may form the rolls—or chill the dough over night and form the rolls in the morning. If chilling over night, deflate the dough before covering the bowl with plastic wrap and placing in the refrigerator.)

Scrape the dough out onto the counter and deflate. Cut dough into 16 equal portions (about 70 g. each). Round each piece into a smooth ball. (The dough will be only slightly sticky—and should be very manageable. You should only need a whisper of flour…if any at all.) Place the formed rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading them out evenly so that they (hopefully) won’t touch when they bake. Cover loosely with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size—about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When the rolls are almost fully risen, mix the cake flour, powdered sugar and 4 T. of the milk. You should have a stiff mixture. Add a little more milk only if it is too stiff to pipe. Scrape into a piping bag fitted with a scant 3/16-inch tip. Carefully brush the rolls with egg wash. Pipe crosses on the buns. Bake in a preheated 375° oven until golden brown and cooked through—about 15 to 20 minutes.

While the rolls bake, bring the water and sugar to a boil. When the buns are done, transfer to a wire rack and brush immediately with the simple syrup. Serve warm…or room temperature…with butter. Makes 16 large buns.

Notes:

If you have any candied orange peel left from the Christmas holidays, use some in these buns. I like a mix of 1/4 cup each diced candied orange peel, dried currants, golden raisins and dried cranberries.
Recipe adapted from the Firehouse Bakery and Darina Allen.
I have made the “liquid cross” with 100 percent all purpose flour and with half cake, half all purpose. It is much better when made with half cake flour—less stretchy and easier to pipe. Also, the all all-purpose version becomes a bit hard/crisp when baked—giving it a discernibly different texture from the bun.

http://www.forloveofthetable.com/2019/04/traditional-hot-cross-buns.html

As published on forloveofthetable.com