Hot cross buns

Ingredients

Hot cross buns

150g warm plant milk

300g strong white flour

1 tsp dried yeast

3 tbsp sugar (45g)

2 tsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp nutmeg powder

30g vegan butter

100g dried cranberries

2 oranges

50g apple sauce

Apple sauce

Soaking orange juice

1 granny smith apple

10g vegan butter

Crossing

75g flour (any)

75g water

1tsp sugar

Methods

1. Zest and juice orange. Soak dried cranberries in the orange juice overnight.

2. Chop the apple into small pieces, add them to soaking orange juice, add vegan butter and then cook for 40 minutes until overcooked. This is apple sauce.

3. Warm plant milk to about 30 Celsius and dissolve the yeast in it. Mix it with apple sauce.

4. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar and mix into a dough with a spatula. Then, mix with hands until no dry flour is left. Cover it with cling film and rest for 20 minutes.

5. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, and incorporate it with vegan butter. The whole process takes about 15 minutes. Cover it with cling film and rest for another 20 minutes.

6. Roll out the dough to be thick but flat. Add ¾ dried cranberries and roll into a stick shape. Add the remaining dried cranberries and roll it into a ball. Proof for 1.5 hours until it is doubled in size.

7. Shape the dough into a stick and divide it into ten small doughs (71g/dough). Roll all dough into a ball. Cover them with cling film and proof them for another 1.5 hours until they are doubled in size.

8. Mix the ingredients for crossing. Add the batter into a piping bag and squeeze the cross on the raw buns. Bake at 200 Celsius for 15 – 20 minutes

9. Brush inverted sugar syrup when it is still warm. You can use honey, maple syrup or apricot jam. Enjoy your hot cross buns with butter!

Note

Kneading the dough:

1. Push the dough out and pull it back, like hand washing clothes.

2. Push with your weight to make the kneading easier.

Incorporating butter:

1. Add 10g butter at a time.

2. Wrap the butter inside the dough. Roll back and forth.

3. Do not worry about butter breaking out of the dough. Continue rolling until all butter is absorbed.

Rolling the dough into small balls:

1. Push with the palm forward while keeping the thumb still and four fingers toward the palm.

2. Move the thumb back toward the palm and pull the dough backwards.

3. Roll anti-clockwise when using the right hand, but clockwise when using the left hand.

4. Do not leave dried flour on the surface so that the dough can be anchored on the table.

A solution to the naughty dough:

1. Roll it a bit and let it sit for a while (2 – 3 minutes)

2. Observe the distribution of dried cranberries. Figure out which side has more dried cranberries.

3. Move the cranberries from the side with less to the one with more. Fold the dough into the side with more cranberries. Then, roll it!

Other notes:

1. Do not cut the piping bag too wide.

2. If you would like to have buns separate from each other. Keep the distance when putting them on the baking tray.

3. If you prefer a lighter-coloured bun, bake for 15 minutes. If you prefer a darker-coloured bun, bake for 20 minutes.

4. Store the unfinished buns in the freezer (although it is hard to not finish them in one go).

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