Recipe courtesy of Levain Bakery
Hot Cross Buns
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 12 buns
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 402
- Total Fat
- 7
- Saturated Fat
- 4
- Carbohydrates
- 76
- Dietary Fiber
- 3
- Sugar
- 35
- Protein
- 10
- Cholesterol
- 55
- Sodium
- 198
- Total: 2 hr 50 min
- Prep: 35 min
- Inactive: 2 hr
- Cook: 15 min
Ingredients
Buns:
2 ounces fresh yeast
2 cups lukewarm milk
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3 eggs
4 1/2 cups high-gluten flour
Spice mix, recipe follows
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup golden raisins
Glaze, recipe follows
Spice Mix:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk, plus more as needed
Directions
- Crumble the yeast into a large mixing bowl and add 1 cup of the warm milk (the milk should feel just warm to the touch but not hot). Using the dough hook attachment, gently mix together.
- Add the honey, butter, 2 eggs, flour, spice mix, salt, and raisins. Start the mixer and gently pour in the remaining 1 cup of milk while mixing. The dough should come together as a soft ball after a few minutes of mixing. If it is too sticky add a few sprinkles of additional flour; if it is too hard add a few more drops of cold milk.
- Turn this soft dough out directly onto a sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until about doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- When it has double in size, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in half and each half in half, etc. until you have a dozen pieces. Shape these pieces into rounds with your hands. Place these rounds equally spaced apart on a floured piece of parchment on a sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until almost doubled in size. (If you press gently with your finger on a bun it should bounce back but your fingerprint should remain a bit.)
- Beat the remaining egg with a fork in a small bowl. Very gently brush this mixture on each of the buns. Using a sharp knife cut a cross shape in the top of each bun. Besides being decorative this allows the bread to rise nicely as it bakes.
- Bake in for about 15 minutes or until browned. Let cool.
- When cool, ice each bun with the glaze in a cross shape, following your cuts and using your spatula to drizzle icing on.
Spice Mix:
- Mix together all the ingredients.
Glaze:
- Put the sugar in a large bowl with the milk. Work the sugar and milk together until combined, adding additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until you have a nice smooth thick glaze.