Hot Cross Buns
How do you have yours? Here's how Team GEC like theirs..
Maxwell McKenzie: Simple, toasted with butter
Faye Chappell: With homemade marmalade
Jodie Lundy: with good quality salted butter & Nutella (Bramley apple hot cross buns from M&S are amazing!)
Callum Buckley: Loves his hot cross bun incorporated into a bread & butter pudding
Tom Gurney: Toasted with bacon
Our pastry Chef David shares his recipe for the perfect Hot Cross Bunnies!
Makes 7-8 Bunnies
Ingredients
3g Dried yeast
80g Caster sugar
30ml Milk & extra for mixing
1 Egg (beaten)
300g Strong bread flour
1/2 Tbsp Mixed spice
1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ground nutmeg
1/2 Tsp Ground ginger
35g Soft butter (cubed)
25g Dried fruit
Piping mixture
3 Tbsp Flour
Pinch of sugar
Water
Bunny Glaze
30g Sugar
Water
Method
Mix the yeast with the milk, 1 tsp of the flour & 1 tsp of the sugar.
Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
In a bowl mix all dry ingredients together.
Rub the butter into flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles crumble.
Add the egg, followed by the yeast, flour & sugar mix.
Gently warm about 200ml of milk & slowly trickle into the flour & butter mix, mixing constantly, until a soft dough form. You may not need all of the milk!
Knead for 5 minutes on a medium speed using the dough hook attachment on your mixer. Alternatively, knead by hand for 8 minutes.
Cover the mix using a damp tea towel & leave to prove for 1 hour until doubled in size.
Shape the dough into oval rounds, cut ears into buns; leave to prove again until they double in size
To make the piping mix for the top: Mix flour, sugar & water to a paste & place into a piping bag.
Pipe out ears, nose & mouth using piping bag.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 12 minutes.
Boil glaze ingredients to a syrup & brush over whilst still warm.
Brush over Bunnies
Add eyes & edible fondant carrots.