Wanted: Recipe to share in holiday celebration for fastidious and discerning family. Must be seasonally appropriate, historically correct and delicious. Must work closely with glazed ham, asparagus and colored eggs. Though a side-dish position, this home chef offers great attention to detail and doesn’t mind hands-on work to reveal your potential. Hours to include Easter Sunday; possible long-term tradition. Excellent references required.
Candidate: Hot Cross Buns.
Though loaves with crosses slashed into them have a long and varied history (two such loaves were even found fossilized amid the ashes of Herculaneum), these sweet little rolls have become particularly associated with the Christian Easter tradition. In England cross buns are prepared as Good Friday breakfast and superstitiously kept to ward off fire and other forms of misfortune. In my recipe search, I’ve found that many versions of Hot Cross Buns omit the signature flavors of currents and spices, which all historical research includes. Finding just the right recipe has proved difficult. But, I’ve made my decision: I shall try the following version with perhaps just a slight addition of some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and clove.
With their sing-song name and nursery rhyme tradition (not to mention a sweet glaze), I’m hoping that these Hot Cross Buns will be a hit with young and old alike. One a penny, two a penny—pricing negotiable.
Hot Cross Buns*
Makes 2 dozen buns.
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl, pan, and knife
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/3 cups currants
Crossing Paste†
1/2 cup apricot jam
Generously butter a large bowl; set aside. Place 1 cup milk in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Heat until milk reaches 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With machine on low speed, add granulated sugar, yeast, salt, butter, lemon zest, orange zest, and eggs. Add flour, and mix on low speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms around dough hook. Continue kneading, scraping down hook and sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth, about 4 minutes more.
Add currants; knead, with dough hook, to incorporate. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead briefly to evenly distribute currants in dough. Shape into a ball. Place dough in prepared bowl. Turn to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Turn dough out onto work surface. Knead briefly and roll dough into a log. Cut log in half and cut each half into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tightly formed ball. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until buns are touching and doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Place bun crossing paste in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip or a paper cornet with a 1/8-inch opening. Pipe crosses over the surface of each bun. Transfer buns to oven and bake until golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, place apricot jam in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until heated through; strain through a mesh sieve set over a bowl. Brush heated jam over buns.
*recipe courtesy of chef John Barricelli as seen on Martha Stewart Living
†Crossing paste made by whisking 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil with 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. water, a pinch of salt and a scant cup of flour. Let stand 1 hour before using.
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Editor’s Note: Angela Denstad Stigeler writes a food column each week for the Caledonia Argus. She, her husband and their two young children live in Caledonia.
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