Hot crossed buns

By Andrew Walbran

Fresh home-made hot crossed buns are so much better than shop-bought ones, and these are particularly tasty.

Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: 24 buns

Tags: bread, buns, sultanas

Cuisine: NZ

Ingredients:

Yeast mixture

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried yeast

Flour

• 2 cups strong white flour

Wet ingredients

• 75–100 g butter
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 cup sultanas

Flour

• 2 cups strong white flour

Glaze

• 3 tsp sugar
• boiling water

Instructions:

Mix yeast mixture in a large bowl and leave for a short time until the yeast starts working. Add first 2 cups of flour, mix, cover and leave in a warm place to rise until double (about 1 hour).

Soften butter and blend with the rest of the wet ingredients except sultanas in a small bowl or jug, then add sultanas and mix.

Add this and the second 2 cups of flour to yeast mixture, and mix.

Knead for about 10 minutes, adding extra flour (perhaps as much as another cup) as necessary.

Form into about 24 buns in a roasting dish. Cover with cling film (and possibly tea-towel), and rise for 2 hours in a warm place.

Bake at 220°C for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Dissolve a few teaspoons of sugar in a little boiling water and brush on top as a glaze while buns are still hot.