Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- dash ground cloves
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup dried currants or raisins
- 1/4 cup diced candied orange peel (optional)
- 1 beaten egg white
- powdered sugar icing
Preparation:
- in a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
- in a saucepan heat and stir milk, butter, sugar, and salt just until warm and butter almost melts
- add milk mixture to flour mixture along with the eggs
- beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly
- beat on high speed for 3 minutes
- using a wooden spoon, stir in currants, orange peel (if desired), and as much of the remaining flour as you can.
- turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface
- knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total)
- shape into a ball
- place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once
- cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 2 hours)
- punch dough down
- turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface
- cover; let rest 10 minutes
- meanwhile, lightly grease 2 baking sheets; set aside
- divide dough into 20 portions.
- gently pull each portion into a ball, tucking edges under to make smooth tops
- place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets
- cover; let rise until nearly double (about 1 hour)
- using a sharp knife, make crisscross slashes across the top of each bun
- in a small bowl combine beaten egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush over rolls
- bake in a 375 oven about 15 minutes or until golden brown
- immediately remove buns from baking sheets
- cool slightly on wire racks
- drizzle powdered sugar icing into crisscrosses on each bun
- serve warm
Prepared: 2005-03-25