A Healthy Take on the Hot Cross Bun

I find baking therapeutic, it really soothes my soul.  Its like  my form of meditation.  Whilst  I concentrate on mixing, stirring, kneading, I travel off to a far far away place. I process my thoughts. My heart rate slows, I begin to breathe fully and  I truly relax.

I am not saying I am an awesome cook, but I just LOVE IT.  I would describe myself as a more of the eclectic, will try anything, make up recipes (that dont always work!) kind of baker. Oh and put me in front of a savoury dish and I'm kind of lost. I just lose that relaxation factor.

Today it was dreary outside, another perfect excuse to get my bake on (and be relaxed). As we are nearing Easter I thought I would try baking Hot Cross Buns for the first time. I paid $3.50 for one the other day (and was horrified!), yes thats right, almost $20 for a half dozen! Yikes, and they werent even that amazing. Surely I could make some for much less than that!

So here is the recipe I baked  (adapted from the Hobbs House Bakery recipe) with a few added healthy additions!

Hot Cross Buns

Serves approx. 16-18

Dough

680g of 00 Flour

(I used 300gm 00 Flour, 250gm of Spelt Flour, 130g Coconut Flour)

Pinch of sea salt 

70g of castor sugar (I used Coconut Sugar as its lower in GI)

15gm of Mixed Spice 

2 Eggs (organic if possible) 

15gm of Dried Yeast

80gm of organic butter/ coconut oil melted

300ml of warm water
I also added 1.5 teaspoons of mesquite powder and 1 teaspoon of Maca Powder.

Fruit 

80gm of Sultanas 

80gm of Currants of Raisins

Zest of Lemon/Orange (Personal Preference but I removed this!)
You could even add some dried Apricots, apples, cranberries, blueberries  and even goji berries which I am going to do next time!

Crossing Mix 

50 gm of 00 Flour, 50gm Spelt Flour

Pinch of Salt

1 Tsp of Sugar - I used Stevia powdered

1 Tsp of Butter 

100ml of water 

Sugar Wash 

2 Tbs of Water

Pinch of Mix Spice 

2 Tsp of sugar  - I used a Coconut sugar

Method:

Grease and line a high sided baking tray with grease-proof paper  . Weigh all the dough ingredients into your biggest mixing bowl.

Stir together with a wooden spoon and once the dough has come together, Here comes the fun part (and the meditation)  turn  it onto a flat surface and knead for 15 minutes, until your dough is smooth  Gently work in the fruit and zest if you havent done so already.

 

Now your dough is ready to rest. Put it back into the big mixing bowl, cover and put in a warm place until it has doubled in size, or for 30 minutes, whichever comes first.

 

After the 30 mins is up cut the dough in half, then divide and divide again until you have 16- 18 equalish pieces. As you can see below mine were not all the same size (oops!) 

 

In the palm of your hand, firmly round the pieces so they stand up tall on your baking tray, a finger’s width between them.

Again, cover the tin and leave in a nice and warm  place until your buns have doubled in size, another 30 or so minutes. It helps to be heating your oven at the same time! 

Turn it on to  to 210°C.

 

 Whisk all the piping mix ingredients in a jug, making sure  there are no lumps, and pour into a piping bag.  Cross the buns by piping a stripes of the piping mix across the length and width of the tin and now its time to bake these  little beauties. 

The very moment they  all have golden tops take them out and brush with the Sugar wash. They will look lovely and glossy.

Now comes the best bit,  eat  them while they are still toasty from the oven, Watch that butter melt and enjoy.

They are delicious with a cup of Lady Grey tea, my personal prefernce . {Its hard to stop at just one.} 
Until next time