Spiced Fruit Buns Recipes

SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.
• Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.
• Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions - I roll my dough into a long sausage shape, then quarter and divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.
• Use a small, sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the crosses you cut earlier. Bake for 12-15 mins until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. While still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.

TRADITIONAL FRUITY AND SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS: BREAD-MAKER

Steps:

• Put all of the Hot Cross Bun ingredients into your break maker in the order listed, excepting the dried fruit.
• Put the fruit into the "extras" tray on your bread maker, or leave to one side to add towards the end of the kneading cycle.
• Set the bread maker to Dough setting - or Raisin Dough setting if you have it.
• Press start and if you do not have an "extras" tray, add your dried fruit when your machine alerts you or 5 minutes before the end of the kneading time.
• Lightly grease two baking trays/sheets.
• When the dough cycle has finished, take the dough out and place it on a lightly floured board. Knock back and shape into 12 pieces, rolling them into balls.
• Place them on the greased baking trays/sheets and cover with a clean tea towel or lightly oiled cling film.
• Allow them to rise for about 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Meanwhile pre-heat the oven the 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Make the pastry crosses by rolling out the ready-made pastry very thinly and cutting into strips.
• Make the glaze by heating up the milk and adding the sugar - heat them until the sugar has dissolved. Set to one side.
• When the Hot Cross Buns are ready to bake, place two strips of pastry on each top - pressing lightly and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. The buns should sound hollow when tapped underneath.
• Brush the glaze on each bun as soon as they have been taken out of the oven and then allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.
• Eat whilst still warm, split & spread with butter!
• These are GREAT toasted when they are a few days old as well!

TANYA'S JAMAICAN SPICE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two 8x4-inch loaf pans.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt together in a bowl; set aside. Beat the egg in a mixing bowl; whisk in the milk, beer, and 1 3/4 cups of brown sugar until the brown sugar has dissolved. Stir in the butter, browning sauce, vanilla extract, and lime juice until blended. Add the flour mixture and raisins. Stir until no dry lumps remain. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• When the bread is nearly finished, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until the sugar is thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Pour the glaze over the bread once it's done; return the bread to the oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

SPICED FRUIT SOURDOUGH LOAF

Steps:

• Dissolve the honey in the hot tea.
• Combine the raisins, currants and orange zest in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot tea over. Cover and leave for 3-6 hours.
• Using a fine sieve, strain the fruit over a jug, reserving the soaking liquid. Set fruit aside, covered in the fridge, until the next day.
• Measure the soaking liquid and make up to 400 ml with tap water if necessary. Set aside until you're ready to make the dough.
• In a large bowl, stir the flour, salt and spices together.
• Dissolve the sourdough starter in the reserved soaking liquid.
• Stir the liquid into the flour, salt and spices. Bring together into a rough dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
• Cover the bowl with cling film and leave overnight or 14-16 hours.
• Scrape the dough out of its bowl onto a well-floured worktop and flatten out.
• Spread half the soaked fruit over the dough. Fold over the sides of the dough to cover the mix and flatten the dough again.
• Spread the rest of the fruit over the dough, fold over the sides again and continue folding until it's distributed evenly
• Shape your loaf to the proving vessel, cover with cling film and leave to rest 10 min.
• After 10 min place the dough into lined, floured proving basket or tea towel-lined bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 90 min.
• After 60 min preheat oven to 250C/500F/Gas 10 and put a cast iron pot with lid into the oven.
• After 90 mins, carefully flip the dough from the proving basket into the pot, slash the top, replace the lid and put in the oven. Turn heat down to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Bake for 30 min.
• After 30 min remove pot from the oven, take bread out and put bread directly on the oven shelf. Bake for 10-20 min until the bread is cooked through, turning down the oven if necessary to stop the outside burning
• Leave on a wire rack to cool.

SPICED FRUITY BUNS

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar, yeast, sultanas, spices and salt in a large bowl. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until butter melts. Remove from heat and whisk in egg.
• Add to dry ingredients then lightly mix. Add sultanas and mix to a soft dough.
• Turn dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for several minutes or until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl.
• Cover with a damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough in the centre. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead for several minutes or until smooth.
• Pre-heat oven to 210°C.
• Lightly grease a 25cm x 30cm lamington tray with melted butter.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
• Knead each portion into a ball and place in the tray. Cover with a damp tea towel and prove for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Brush the tops of the buns with a little whisked egg. Snip a small hole in the corner of the plastic bag and pipe the flour paste to form a cross over each bun.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C and bake for 15-20 minutes longer or until buns are cooked through.
• To make glaze, heat the sugar and water. Stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer uncovered for 30 seconds.
• Remove the hot cross buns from the oven and turn onto a wire rack. Brush the tops with glaze.
• Serve with butter.