Wednesday 20 April 2011

HOT CROSS BUNS! (with cointreau soaked sultanas)

U got good buns? Yeah, well maybe you should steer clear of these if you wanna keep them that way. I just had two. Two and a half. 
The air is still warm from the oven and it smells sweet and spicy. You should really make these, they taste worlds apart from shop bought. I've taken tonnes of pics to help you through my variation on a Delia recipe.
1 envelope/sachet of dried yeast
150ml of really warm water
60g caster sugar
mix all above and leave for 10 mins until frothy
450g plain flour 
1 level tsp table salt
1 tsp of mixed spice
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
sift together into a roomy bowl
add 50g chopped mixed peel and 75g of sultanas soaked in 1tbsp heated cointreau
 melt 50g butter and lightly whisk with an egg and 50ml warm milk. Pour it, and the yeast mixture into a well and mix.
Work into a dough, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, then cover the bowl with cling and stick in a warm place for one hour until doubled in size.
Take out and punch down to original size and then cut into 12 pieces which you can mould into bun shape (tuck the sides into the bottom)
Make a cross with a sharp knife and cover with cling again and let rise for 40 minutes.
 Preheat your oven to 220C and make another dough out of 2 heaped tsp flour and a drop of water. Roll out and cut thin strips for your crosses. Stick on with a little water and pop in the oven for 5 minutes.
 Once out the oven and on a cooling rack, brush with a sugar glaze.I made mine with an orange juice, sugar and cinnamon reduction.

2 comments:

Miyuki Pleece said...

These look fantastic. I knew that Cointreau would come in handy.

georgie walton said...

I think I speak for the entire Walton family when I say these are delicious! Thank you Milli yet again!