Hot Cross Buns

Difficulty: Medium

Serves 16

I thought I would try my hand at some Hot Cross Buns since it is the season and all. I’ve never made them before and was surprised at how simple it was, if not a little time consuming. With all cooking though, it’s the thrill of making something from scratch that you don’t get from buying it at the store (or often in a vegan’s case, isn’t available). These buns are quite small, which is good as I only like sweet things in small portions, make them bigger if that’s your style!

Ingredients

Buns

• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 14 grams (2 sachets) of dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm soy milk
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine.
• 1 cup mixed dried fruit

Paste for Crosses

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar

Glaze

• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

Method

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, yeast and soy milk. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before giving it another stir.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice.
3. Rub the margarine into the flour mixture.
4. Pour the yeast mixture into the dry mixture and combine well.
5. Add the dried fruit and mix until well distributed.
6. Cover for 45 minutes and leave to rise in a warm place.
7. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
8. Dust a clean surface with flour and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. You may need to add some more flour to the dough to stop it from sticking.
9. Break the dough into 16 even balls and place in a square cake tin, lightly greased and lined with baking paper.
10. Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
11. Combine the flour, sugar and water in a small bowl and mix into a smooth paste.
12. Pipe crosses onto the buns with the paste and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
13. In the meantime, prepare the glaze by combining ingredients in a small bowl.
14. When golden, remove from the oven and brush with the glaze before allowing to cool.