This Easter, Tesco asked us to come up with something fun and creative to bake at home. Our homemade Tear 'n' Share Hot Cross Bun Wheel with cinnamon butter is perfect... but why not go the extra mile and see how creative you can be! Can you shape a #HotCrossBunnie ?
Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Weigh the strong white and wholemeal flours into one big mixing bowl and add the honey, salt, sugar, spice, egg and mixed peel. Pour in the milk and mix until you have a dough.
Knead for 5-10 minutes until really elastic, you may need a little extra flour if it's too sticky. Allow to prove for an hour at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size. Tip in the sultanas if you’re using them and knead again to knock out the air and integrate the dried fruit evenly. If you aren’t using sultanas add 1 tbsp of honey instead to give it a natural sweetness.
Divide and shape into 12 buns. Arrange on a silicon-paper lined baking tray so that buns form a ring (use a ramekin or similar as a marker) but still have space to expand**. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove again for another 45 minutes or so until the buns have expanded and are now touching each other. ** The dough can also be shaped into bunnies and lined up on the silicon paper to prove for a second time...use your creativity to create your own bunny.
Preheat an oven to 200°C.
Mix a thick paste from the plain flour and transfer to a piping bag. Use the paste to pipe a cross onto each bun then bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Allow to cool a bit.
Dissolve the apricot jam with the water in a small pan or microwave and brush over the buns to form a glaze.
Whisk the double cream in a mixer until it thickens and then begins to separate. Keep whisking until you have one clump of butter in amongst buttermilk. Squeeze and mould the butter under cold running water to rinse it of any excess butter milk, then knead in the salt and cinnamon.
Serve the Hot Cross Buns still slightly warm with the homemade butter in a bowl in the centre.