In collaboration with Brixton Windmill and using their organic wholemeal flour
Hot cross buns are…something that I had never eaten before moving to the UK. Surely not for Easter.
Traditionally, Easter in Italy is marked by the arrival of millions of ‘doves’. No, literally, they are everywhere, but made of bread of course: the traditional Easter ‘colomba’, usually much lighter and fluffier than its Christmas counterpart, panettone. And topped with a lot of sugar pearls and almonds.
However, given the fact that this year I had already attempted making panettone roughly 369 times to perfect my recipe, and the process for making a “colomba” cake is quite similar – quite, but not quite (and it’s that ‘quite’ that made me thing ok, perhaps next year) – I thought I’d experiment with something different, but that I equally love, hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns are a type of sweet bread, usually spiced, filled with fruit and decorated with a cross at the top. They somehow remind me of Italian raisin bread, and I remember eating so much of it when I was a kid. So simple and delicious, cut in half, warm and with just some butter on top. Oh.
There are many ‘theories’ and ‘stories’ and ‘symbolism’ linked to the ingredients of a good hot cross buns, with the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, and the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him at his burial and may also include orange peel to reflect the bitterness of his time on the Cross (copied and pasted this from Wikipedia exactly as it is and I am not going to change a word of it).
But, nowadays, bakeries and supermarkets in different countries have started selling variations of the what-it-is-believed-to-be the original recipe, and some of them are equally good. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a classic hot cross bun just as much as the other flavours, but why not to try something different myself then?
Particularly given the fact that some time ago I bought some dried sour cherries that were still sitting in the cupboard (I love sour cherries) and those pair so well with coffee (I love coffee) and with the wholesome flavour of some good wholemeal flour (I love wholemeal flour).
I’ve basically said it all already. My sour cherry and coffee hot cross buns are an easy-to-follow recipe that just requires a bit of patience as there is a bit of proofing time behind it. But the result is a comforting sweet bun treat to serve not only at Easter time. The wholemeal flour gives a semi-dense texture (but still soft) that is just so perfect for carrying that knob of butter on top. Until you bite in it and there it comes, the sweet-sour-bitter flavour given by the cherries, coffee and dough that will make everyone happy.
Would you like to try some more enriched dough recipes? Need more buns in your life? Give a go to my panettone-inspired Bunnettones or use your favourite jam while making my Jam and marzipan sticky buns.
Makes 6 to 9 buns
Ingredients
FOR THE BUNS
- 125g strong bread flour plus extra for dusting
- 125g whole wheat flour (I used Brixton Windmill flour)
- 6g salt
- 40g caster sugar
- 6g dry yeast
- 25g butter at room temperature
- 1 egg, lightly beaten (50g)
- 90ml warm milk (to activate the yeast)
- 125g dried sour cherries
- 3 Tbsp instant coffee (or more at your liking)
FOR THE CROSS
- 2 Tbsp plain flour
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp water
FOR THE GLAZE
- 50g smooth apricot jam
- 1 tsp coffee extract (or strong coffee)
- 1Tbsp water
Method
- Activate the yeast following the instructions on the package. I usually warm the milk to 38℃, add the yeast and a sprinkle of sugar, give it a good stir and cover to become frothy for 10 minutes.
- Soak the cherries in enough lukewarm water to cover them. Leave for 10 minutes.
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter, egg and instant coffee together in a bowl, then slowly add the warmed milk until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
- Squeeze any excess water out of the cherries and add to the dough. Initially incorporate them within the bowl, as it’s just easier and they won’t scatter around. Add one or two extra tsp of flour to the mix to balance the moisture brought by the cherries.
- Once the cherries are fairly incorporated, tip out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough by holding it with one hand and stretching it with the heel of the other hand. Knead through the initial sticky and wet stage, resisting the urge of adding extra flour. After about 5 minutes, if still sticky, dust with a bit of flour and bring together into a smooth and springy dough.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for approximately one hour and a half, or until doubled in size.
- Knock back the dough to let the gas escape, form a ball again and return to rise for another hour and a half.
- Weigh the dough and divide it into 6 or 9 pieces, according to how large you want your buns to be. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured surface. Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment, leaving enough space so that the buns just touch when they rise and expand (about 2 cm). Set aside to prove for another hour.
- When the rise is nearly completed, heat the oven to 190℃. For the cross, mix the flour and water to form a pipeable paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle or a plastic food bag (snip a tiny bit of one of the corners to pipe). Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven, or until golden-brown.
- In the meanwhile, mix the apricot jam and water to form a sticky and loose glaze. Take the buns out of the oven and brush the tops with the glaze to give it a shiny and sticky finish. Wait 15 minutes to slice and brush with butter (or brandy butter, if you ask me!..) Enjoy!