I have always found sourdough Hot Cross Buns something of a challenge. The first year we made them at The Gourmet Grocer they were fabulous and so too the first year at New Norcia Bakeries but the following year we were so disappointed we didn't make them again. I think it was a lot to do with trying to make large commercial batches and the fact we had so much demand for our traditional Hot Cross Buns. This year however at Chrissie's urging I tried again and we were very pleases with the result.
Dough Ingredients
650gms baker’s flour
15gms salt
80gms unsalted butter
200mls full cream milk
30gms castor sugar
1 egg
250ml active sour dough starter
Fruit and Spice Ingredients
200gms sultanas
100gms currants
25gms mixed peel
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons ground nutmeg
0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
Piping Ingredients (Cross Paste)
100gms baker’s flour
2gms salt
20mls (1Tablespoon) vegetable oil
100ml water
Sugar Syrup Ingredients
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons castor sugar
strip of fresh lemon peel
Method
Place the sultanas, currants, mixed peel and spices into a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl stir together 650gms of baker’s flour and the salt. Rub the butter into the flour and salt. Add the sourdough starter. In a small bowl whisk the egg and add it to the large bowl with the sugar.
In a saucepan warm milk to very warm; 50C to 60C is ideal. Add this to the other ingredients in the bowl and mix together until a dough is formed.
Turn the dough out onto the bench and knead for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a little more milk if required.
Pat the dough into a flat oblong then tip the fruit and spice mix onto the dough. Fold the dough over the fruit and spice then start gently kneading until all ingredients are evenly combined. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Place back into the mixing bowl and cover with clingfilm or a damp cloth then set in a warm space away from draughts. It is important that the dough is kept warm. If necessary place in a turned off oven that has been allowed to cool to below 50C.
Prepare a baking sheet (approx 330mm x 240mm) by lining with baking paper. Tip the dough out onto your workbench and divide the dough into 100gm pieces. You should get 15 or 16 pieces. Form the pieces of dough into balls making them as tight as possible and place onto the baking sheet, three across and five deep. Keep them close together; about 10mm apart so they touch and join as they rise. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 2 to 2.5 hours until the are soft to touch but still with a little spring.
Set your oven at 220C.
Using a whisk combine all the ingredients of the Cross Paste mix beating until there are no lumps and the mix is like a thick pancake batter. Pour the mixture into a piping bag with a 3mm nozzle. In one long squeeze pipe a line of paste down the centre of the long line of buns. Now do five shorter squeezes across the short line of buns so that a cross is formed on the top of each bun. You will have paste left over but it is much better to have too much than not enough.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200C. I turn the tray around after 10 minutes because most ovens are hotter at the back. They should be a golden colour.
Meanwhile place the water, sugar and strip of lemon peel in a small saucepan and bring to a boil then turn down to a low simmer to keep hot.
When baked, remove the buns from the oven and slide from the tray onto a close woven cooling rack then slide out the baking paper. Immediately brush generously with the hot glaze.
Your Sourdough Hot Cross Buns are now ready to eat with butter. They can be reheated in a 170C oven for 5 minutes the next day or toasted. They also freeze very well.
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