The Great Hot Cross Bun Hunt - Trial One

This year I'm on the search for the best Hot Cross Bun recipe. I want a Hot Cross Bun that is fluffy, full of juicy fruit (but none of that icky peel stuff!) and full of Hot Cross Bun flavour. Flicking through magazines and cook books and roaming around on the net has revealed quite a few different recipes for this Easter treat which got me to thinking, surely a Hot Cross Bun is fairly standard fare? Can so many different recipes all produce a different bun, different from any other? Or is it all a big con designed to suck in unsuspecting Hot Cross Bun wanna-be-makers? I've made it my mission to find out!

Hot Cross Buns - Australian Women's Weekly Style

2 x 7g sachets fast action yeast

55g caster sugar

375ml warm milk

600g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

60g butter

1 egg

120g sultanas

Flour Paste For Crosses

75g plain flour

2 tsp caster sugar

80ml water, approx

Glaze

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp gelatine

1 tbsp water

Combine yeast, sugar and milk in a small bowl or jug. Cover and stand in a warm place for about 10 mins or until the mixture is frothy.

Sift the flour and spices into a large bowl. Rub in the butter. Stir in the yeast mixture, egg and sultanas; mix to a soft sticky dough. Cover and stand in a warm place for about 45 mins or until the dough has doubled in size.

Grease a 23cm square slab cake pan.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 mins or until smooth. Divide dough into 16 pieces, knead into balls. Place the balls into the prepared pan. Cover and stand in a warm place for about 10 mins or until the buns have risen to the top of the pan.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan.

Place the flour paste for crosses into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tube. Pipe crosses onto the buns.

Bake buns in the oven for about 20 mins or until well browned. Turn buns onto a wire rack, brush tops with hot glaze; cool. Serve with butter.

Flour Paste For Crosses - Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Gradually blend in enough of the water to form a smooth paste.

Glaze - Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over heat, without boiling, until the sugar and gelatine are dissolved.

Makes 16 buns (I got 18 out of my dough somehow!)

Breads and Muffins - The Australian Women's Weekly

The result is a tale of woe I'm afraid. Flavourless and dry, they defiantly needed some more spice added than suggested in the recipe and as for the dryness, well this may have been down to me but there is equal possibility that it was the recipe so I'll call it even on that front ... sigh! I actually bought the book this recipe is in because of the picture of the hot cross buns on the front cover, standing proud in all their fluffy glory! In this case our overall verdict (Hubby gets to cast a vote too) is that we were conned with this recipe. Never mind - plenty more still to try ;0)