Hot Cross Buns

So, who hasn't done some Easter baking this year? This year I haven't had a single Easter egg, but I sure have eaten a lot of hot cross buns! In the past few weeks I've been wolfing down the Bakers' Delight choc chip ones, and we got some free no-name brand hot cross buns at work yesterday. Score!

Of course, there is nothing like HCB's fresh out of the oven, and what better time to bake your own HCB's than on the first day of a 4-day weekend? (Is there a sweeter phrase in the English language?) For some reason, last year I only made a half-batch, but this year I went all out and made 2 batches - one regular, one choc chip. Again, I stuck to the fab, classic recipe from Cookery the Australian Way.

Kneading the dough...


Kneading the chocolate dough...

Shaping the dough into buns before the 2nd proving...

Shaping the chocolate dough into buns before the 2nd proving...

Piping crosses on the dough with a flour-water mix.

Piping melted chocolate onto the buns with melted dark chocolate. (And yes I may have melted slightly too much chocolate which meant I had to eat the rest. Muahahaha. And BTW, salty pretzels dipped in melted dark chocolate are AWESOME).

As you can see, I baked the normal HCB's in a rectangular tray, and the chocolate ones in a 25cm round cake pan.

They only take 15 minutes to bake! But I gave them an extra 10 because it was a double batch and the plain HCB's weren't browning enough for my liking.
(The crosses kinda melted off, I possibly mis-measured the flour, whoops).


It's important to remember the glaze! This glaze includes water, sugar, mixed spice and gelatine, which you whisk together and boil over a high heat.


Brushing the glaze over the buns gives them an irresistible sheen.

Let's all take a moment: Ooooooh.... Aaaah...

Freshly baked hot cross buns with tea. What a fabulous afternoon treat!

I know I've been baking with yeast for a while, but every time it anything turns out that looks like proper bread I'm always surprised, and super proud of myself!

I served the fruit HCB's thickly with Lescure unsalted butter. Mmmmm yum yum.

The rest of the day has been devoted to some serious relaxing: a How I Met Your Mother marathon (Barney rules!), cracking open a bottle of pinot noir, and a big bowl of pochachoes. Wooo!

Hope y'all are having a fabulous Easter weekend!

So, who hasn't done some Easter baking this year? This year I haven't had a single Easter egg, but I sure have eaten a lot of hot cross buns! In the past few weeks I've been wolfing down the Bakers' Delight choc chip ones, and we got some free no-name brand hot cross buns at work yesterday. Score!

Of course, there is nothing like HCB's fresh out of the oven, and what better time to bake your own HCB's than on the first day of a 4-day weekend? (Is there a sweeter phrase in the English language?) For some reason, last year I only made a half-batch, but this year I went all out and made 2 batches - one regular, one choc chip. Again, I stuck to the fab, classic recipe from Cookery the Australian Way.

Kneading the dough...


Kneading the chocolate dough...

Shaping the dough into buns before the 2nd proving...

Shaping the chocolate dough into buns before the 2nd proving...

Piping crosses on the dough with a flour-water mix.

Piping melted chocolate onto the buns with melted dark chocolate. (And yes I may have melted slightly too much chocolate which meant I had to eat the rest. Muahahaha. And BTW, salty pretzels dipped in melted dark chocolate are AWESOME).

As you can see, I baked the normal HCB's in a rectangular tray, and the chocolate ones in a 25cm round cake pan.

They only take 15 minutes to bake! But I gave them an extra 10 because it was a double batch and the plain HCB's weren't browning enough for my liking.
(The crosses kinda melted off, I possibly mis-measured the flour, whoops).


It's important to remember the glaze! This glaze includes water, sugar, mixed spice and gelatine, which you whisk together and boil over a high heat.


Brushing the glaze over the buns gives them an irresistible sheen.

Let's all take a moment: Ooooooh.... Aaaah...

Freshly baked hot cross buns with tea. What a fabulous afternoon treat!

I know I've been baking with yeast for a while, but every time it anything turns out that looks like proper bread I'm always surprised, and super proud of myself!

I served the fruit HCB's thickly with Lescure unsalted butter. Mmmmm yum yum.

The rest of the day has been devoted to some serious relaxing: a How I Met Your Mother marathon (Barney rules!), cracking open a bottle of pinot noir, and a big bowl of pochachoes. Wooo!

Hope y'all are having a fabulous Easter weekend!