As a lover of
English foods in general, for many years I was a bit mystified by the popularity
of the Hot Cross Bun. I have made them on more than one
occasion. And I’m sure that I probably
had a commercial version when I was living in London. But I don’t ever remember having one (mine,
or otherwise) that impressed me too much.
I knew this could only be because I hadn’t been to the right place…or
found the right recipe.
Since I wanted to
love them, (What’s not to love about the idea of a soft, slightly sweet,
slightly spicy, roll—filled with dried and candied fruit?) last year, as the Lenten
season drew to a close, I finally decided to do some serious research and try
them again. I turned first to the recipes and writings of Darina Allen (of the Ballymaloe House & Cookery
School in Ireland). I can think of no
better living resource for the traditional foods of the British Isles. Then, while poking around on line, I ran
across a recipe (also from Ireland) that looked promising from a place called the Firehouse Bakery.
The two recipes are
not dissimilar, but I liked the method that Patrick Ryan (of Firehouse) used
for incorporating the butter. Somewhat
like a brioche, the butter isn’t added until the gluten begins to develop in
the kneaded dough (after 5 minutes or so).
This method takes a bit longer—and requires a stand mixer—but ultimately
allows for better gluten development (fat is a gluten inhibitor). I used this method for the pumpkin dinner rolls I posted a few years ago, and I love the light and tender results. There is a great vimeo available on line of Ryan making his rolls. It is very
instructive.
In the end my recipe
was basically a combination of these two.
My greatest change was to switch to all-purpose flour from the
strong/bread flour called for in their recipes.
I may be wrong, but my suspicion is that American all-purpose flour has
a protein content that is fairly close to (although not quite as high as)
British “strong” flour. It is always
difficult to translate a recipe from one country to another because of the
differences in the ingredients. I
thought erring on the side of a lower protein flour (with the all-purpose)
would be better than using one that had more protein (American bread flour). The latter might have made the rolls too
hard. A Hot Cross Bun is supposed to be
soft.
I did look at other British
recipes…and a few American ones…mostly to get a feel for the range of butter
and sugar and quantity of spice and dried fruits. There was a fair amount of variation among
recipes in this regard. In the end, I
went on the high side with butter, sugar and dried/candied fruit. These are the things that make them special
for the holidays, in my opinion. My
rolls are not too sweet or too rich—but they are definitely not plain. I can
see how they would seem quite decadent—and a welcome treat on Good Friday—after
the traditional Lenten fast from dairy-rich foods.
You will find that most American versions of these buns are topped with a piped cross of powdered sugar frosting after they have been baked. I have never seen a British recipe finished this way. Traditionally the buns are topped with a couple of strips of crossed pâte brisée/pie dough…or a piped “liquid cross”…prior to baking. Some recipes slash each proofed roll in a cross (similar to Soda Bread)—but this doesn’t seem to me to be the norm. I ended up using the Firehouse bakery “liquid cross” …mostly because I was curious about it. It was like nothing I had ever worked with. I’m so glad I tried it. It is very easy to make. And since it is baked on, it can’t be smeared or smudged off. It also looks pleasingly neat and precise.
And for Americans
who are used to using the term “bun” to refer to something that you fill with a
hamburger or a hot dog, according to Elizabeth David (English Bread & Yeast
Cookery…among others), in the British Isles a “bun” is a ‘small, soft, plump,
sweet, fermented (yeasted) cake.” There
are of course loads of traditional English breads that fall into this category:
Chelsea Buns, Currant Buns, Spice Buns…and Hot Cross Buns…to name a few. So even though Easter is past for the year,
you could still make these delicious little rolls. Just leave the liquid cross off and you’ll
have a Spice Bun. Or make them with all
currants and you’ll have a Currant Bun.
Either would be delicious with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea. Or do as I do and enjoy them with your
breakfast (they freeze beautifully). And
then, when Easter rolls around again next year, the making of the buns will be
easy and you can focus on learning how to make and pipe the cross.
Hot
Cross Buns
454 g. (4 c.)
all-purpose flour
75 g. (6 T.)
sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground
cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t.
allspice
2 T. warm
water
7 g. (2 1/4 t.)
instant or active dry yeast
1 large egg,
beaten
240 g. (1 c.)
whole milk, tepid
Zest of one
orange
85 g. (6 T.)
unsalted butter—cool but malleable, cut into 6 chunks
170 g. (1 c.)
mixed dried and candied fruits (see notes)
1 egg beaten
with 1 t. of water and a pinch of salt for egg wash
50 g. (1/2 c.)
cake flour
50 g. (1/2 c.
less 1 T.) all-purpose flour
40 g. (1/3 c.)
powdered sugar
60 to 75 g. (4
to 5 T.) whole milk
28 g. (2 T.)
water
25 g. (2 T.)
sugar
Place the
flour, sugar, salt and spices in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Place the
water in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Sprinkle the yeast over the water.
If using active dry yeast, let it sit for a minute or two to soften. Add the egg, milk, orange zest, and dry
ingredients. Using the dough hook mix on
low speed (no. 2 or 3) until the ingredients are homogenous (a minute or
two). Increase the speed to medium (no.
4) and mix until the dough is just beginning to pull away from the sides—about
5 to 7 minutes.
Add the butter
while the mixer is still running and continue to mix for a minute or two,
stopping to scrape down the sides a couple of times, until the butter is
absorbed. Continue to knead until the
dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl and is smooth, velvety and
elastic—about 6 to 8 minutes.
(The first time you make this, waiting for the dough to come together will be an act of faith. But eventually—and suddenly—it will. If your butter is warm...or very soft...it will take longer. Resist the temptation to add more flour. This is a soft sticky dough.) Add the dried fruits and continue to mix until distributed throughout the dough.
Lightly butter
a large bowl. Butter your hands. If the fruit is not well distributed, scrape
the dough out of the mixing bowl and onto a lightly floured surface and use a
bench scraper to help mix and fold until the fruit is spread uniformly
throughout the dough. Using your
(buttered hands) form the dough into a ball by stretching the surface around to
the bottom four or five times, rotating the ball of dough after each
stretch.
Place the ball in the buttered bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at a warm room temperature until doubled in bulk—about two hours.
(At this point you may form the rolls—or chill the dough over night and form the rolls in the morning. If chilling over night, deflate the dough before covering the bowl with plastic wrap and placing in the refrigerator.)
Scrape the dough out onto the counter and deflate. Cut dough into 16 equal portions (about 70 g. each). Round each piece into a smooth ball. (The dough will be only slightly sticky—and should be very manageable. You should only need a whisper of flour…if any at all.)
Place the formed rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading them out evenly so that they (hopefully) won’t touch when they bake.
Cover loosely with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size—about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Place the ball in the buttered bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at a warm room temperature until doubled in bulk—about two hours.
(At this point you may form the rolls—or chill the dough over night and form the rolls in the morning. If chilling over night, deflate the dough before covering the bowl with plastic wrap and placing in the refrigerator.)
Scrape the dough out onto the counter and deflate. Cut dough into 16 equal portions (about 70 g. each). Round each piece into a smooth ball. (The dough will be only slightly sticky—and should be very manageable. You should only need a whisper of flour…if any at all.)
Place the formed rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading them out evenly so that they (hopefully) won’t touch when they bake.
Cover loosely with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size—about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When the rolls
are almost fully risen, mix the cake flour, powdered sugar and 4 T. of the
milk. You should have a stiff
mixture. Add a little more milk only if
it is too stiff to pipe. Scrape into a
piping bag fitted with a scant 3/16-inch tip.
Carefully brush the rolls with egg wash.
Pipe crosses on the buns.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven until golden brown and cooked through—about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the rolls bake, bring the water and sugar to a boil. When the buns are done, transfer to a wire rack and brush immediately with the simple syrup. Serve warm…or room temperature…with butter. Makes 16 large buns.
Pipe crosses on the buns.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven until golden brown and cooked through—about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the rolls bake, bring the water and sugar to a boil. When the buns are done, transfer to a wire rack and brush immediately with the simple syrup. Serve warm…or room temperature…with butter. Makes 16 large buns.
Notes:
- If you have any candied orange peel left from the Christmas holidays, use some in these buns. I like a mix of 1/4 cup each diced candied orange peel, dried currants, golden raisins and dried cranberries.
- Recipe adapted from the Firehouse Bakery and Darina Allen.
- I have made the “liquid cross” with 100 percent all purpose flour and with half cake, half all purpose. It is much better when made with half cake flour—less stretchy and easier to pipe. Also, the all all-purpose version becomes a bit hard/crisp when baked—giving it a discernibly different texture from the bun.
