VENUZI Hot Cross Bun Recipe  

How many: 12 Buns

Time: 2.5 hours

~ How to cook with kids below ~

Ingredients:

The Ferment:

20g Yeast

250ml Water at 38 degrees

50g Plain Flour

20g Caster Sugar

The Dough:

400g Plain Flour

5g Salt

60g Butter, softened

15g Milk Powder

40g Caster Sugar

1 cup Sultanas

5g Cinnamon

2g Nutmeg

5g Vanilla Extract

The Cross:

100g Plain Flour

15ml Oil

10g Caster Sugar

100ml Water

The Sugar Glaze:

5g Caster Sugar

2ml Water

Method:

Make the Ferment, In a small bowl add the yeast and water and whisk then add the flour and sugar

Cover the mixture with a cloth and place in a warm place for 25-30mins or until the ferment rises and starts to fall again

Make the dough, Sift the flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk powder together

Rub the softened butter through the flour, until it’s a fine crumb. Make a bay in the flour mix and pour in the bubbly ferment mix, plus vanilla extract (*Vanilla extract is optional)

Using a spoon, carefully mix the dry ingredients with the ferment to make your smooth dough

Knead the dough for 10 mins in the bowl or until it becomes smooth elastic ball

Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a cloth and put in the warm place and allow to rise for 40 minutes

Go find your dough and knock back the dough (push the gas out), Add Sultanas if you wanted at this stage and knead in the bowl for 2 mins (The reason you leave it in the bowl is so that it doesn’t stick to the bench surface and you will want to add more flour, this will make a dry end result)

Cover and allow the dough to rise again for another 20 minutes

Divide the dough into equal size balls, make the top of the ball smooth by pulling and folding onto itself, this is the final surface of your bun so you want the crease on the bottom

Place the dough buns close to each other on the lined baking tray so they all touch

Cover with a cloth and place in a warm draft free area to allow the final form to rise for 15 minutes

Make the cross paste, Mix the water, sugar, oil together and then add the flour to make a smooth paste. The thicker the better! Adjust the water and flour as required to get a paste consistency

Using a seal lock sandwich bag or fancy pipping bag, place the paste into the bag and pipe* “the cross” over the proofed buns

*Pipe the full length of the tray first in one direction, then the other until they are all crossed

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 215 degrees

Make the sugar glaze, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer on the stove, stir until sugar dissolves

The cross should stand out as a white cross and the buns should be brown. If this isn’t occurring, spray with a little water and bake for a few more minutes until golden

Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the cooked buns with Sugar Glaze, top and bottom

Serve warm with butter or just eat on its own. Or even freeze and give it to the kids for school lunches….

That’s if they last that long! The smell alone will draw in unwanted crowds

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE WITH KIDS….

Warning major mess factor!

Get them to measure the dry stuff. If you want eatable hot cross buns, you should point out on the measuring cup how much the recipe needs, and check before they add it to the bowl

They can crack the eggs

Get them to mix it with their hands

They can start off the kneading. Until they are bored, 10 minutes of kneading is a long time for the younger ones, and mummy’s patience

Show them the dough is growing, or put a timer on so, every time the timer goes off they can check it themselves

They can roll the final HCB shape, big or small, it doesn’t matter Adjust the cooking time if they are smaller

They can add the cross design, this may be a random shape, but again it doesn’t matter, who are you trying to impress

Get them to brush the sugar glaze on top

I don’t think you need to encourage anyone to eat them at this point! Just enjoy

Get them to wash up the dishes with you, it is worth a try anyway!!!!