Cranberry Hot Cross Buns

07/04/2020 Canteen recipes, Everyday, GREEN, HKA Kitchen, Party food ideas, Recipes, Snacks, Sweet food

GREEN (ACT & SA)

EVERYDAY (NSW)

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients:

For the buns:

  • ½ cup reduced fat milk
  • 2 teaspoons dry yeast (7g sachet)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 cup wholemeal flour
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup sultanas

For the crosses:

  • ¼ cup flour
  • 3-4 tablespoons water

For the glaze:

  • 1 egg, whisked

Method:

  1. Heat milk in the microwave on high for 40 seconds until warm. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of honey. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy.
  2. Sift the flours into a large bowl, then mix in the cinnamon and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, egg, vanilla extract and remaining honey. Pour this into the yeast mixture and mix.
  4. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour. Add in the dried cranberries and sultanas, then combine to form a sticky dough. Cover the dough with a wet (clean) tea towel and sit in a warm spot for approximately 45 minutes to rise.
  5. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Punch out the air, then knead for roughly 5 minutes, adding extra flour where necessary to prevent sticking.
  6. Cut dough into 12 even pieces, shape into golf ball-sized buns, then place onto a prepared baking tray roughly 1cm apart. Cover tray with the tea towel and place in a warm spot for a further 20 minutes to rise.
  7. Preheat oven to 180 °C.
  8. For the crosses, mix together the flour and water in a small bowl until a paste forms. Transfer into a snap lock bag and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe a cross onto the top of each bun.
  9. Bake for 25 minutes, until the buns are cooked through and golden on top.
  10. Glaze the top of each bun with a whisked egg before putting back into the oven for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes to cool before serving warm with margarine or jam.

Variations:

  • Use different fruits, such as apricots or dried apple. If dried fruit isn’t your thing, you could also leave it out all together.
  • You can use the stove to heat your milk, but don’t let it boil!

Tips:

  • If your dough does not bounce back when you poke it with your finger, and if it tears rather than stretch when you pull it – keep kneading, it’s not ready yet.
  • To avoid mess, trace the crosses on top of each bun with the back of a knife before piping on the paste.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe