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Hot Cross Chelsea Buns

I can clearly remember the aroma of freshly baked hot cross buns filling the air, as my granny kneaded the dough on the kitchen table. The scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice combined with the warm, yeasty fragrance of the dough rising in the oven. As I sat under the table, watching granny work her magic, I couldn't resist the urge to lick the bowl that she has just used to mix the dough. The taste of the sweet, sticky mixture on my tongue was irresistible, and I relished every moment of it. Finally, the buns were ready, and granny took them out of the oven, piping hot and smelling divine. She carefully brushed them with glaze, and the cross on top stands out in stark relief against the golden-brown surface of the bun. Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter pastry, and making them at home can be a fun family activity, everyone enjoying the aroma of the warm spices filling her home.. The process of making hot cross buns typically involves mixing flour, yeast, sugar, spices, and dried fruit, and letting the dough rise before shaping it into buns and baking them in the oven.  Serving the buns fresh from the oven with a bit of butter or jam can be a delicious treat and a lovely way to celebrate the Easter holiday. I thought I'd try a different way of making hot cross buns this year so I combined my normal bread machine recipe with one for Chelsea buns - resulting in these rather delicious Hot Cross Chelsea Buns! Instead of using the automatic dispenser in the bread machine to put in the spiced fruit mixture I thought I would use this method so that people who were making the dough by hand could try it out as well. I also tried different spiced fruits, this time using dried cherries and ground almonds, but of course you can use the normal mixed dried fruits if you prefer.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: British
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • For the dough:
  • ½ tsp Yeast
  • 250 g White flour strong e.g. Canadian
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 25 g butter or sunflower oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 medium egg
  • 100 ml milk can be dairy free e.g. almond milk
  • The other ingredients:
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • 50 g dried cherries halved
  • 25 g raisins
  • 25 g chopped blanched almonds
  • For the glaze:
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 4 Tbsp water

Method
 

  1. Add the dough ingredients to your bread machine in the order above unless the manufacturer’s instructions suggest otherwise and select the appropriate dough kneading setting. This is normally about 2 - 2½ hours. 
  2. While the machine does its thing mix the other ingredients together well in a bowl.
  3. Knead the dough a bit then roll it out into a rectangle about 25 x 20 cm.
  4. Spread the mixed ingredients over, then roll up the dough from its longer side – a bit like a Swiss roll.
  5. Cut into six pieces, roughly tuck in the fruity mix and squeeze them into ball shapes.
  6. Pop onto greaseproof paper on a shallow roasting tray and into the oven at about 40C for about 20 minutes to rise.
  7. Remove the tray of buns, turn up the oven to oven to 200C and return them for about 15-20 mins or when nicely browned.
  8. When the buns are nearly ready, boil the sugar & water for about 5 minutes to make the glaze.