Sourdoughhotcrossbuns Recipes

SOURDOUGH HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Mix the starter, water and 1 1/2 cups flour together and let proof, covered, overnight or 8 to 12 hours.
• In a large bowl, mix proofed starter, butter, milk powder, egg, and sugar together.
• In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup of remaining flour, salt and allspice.
• Add to dough mixture in large bowl.
• Mix well, adding remaining 1/2 cup flour if needed and knead by hand until dough is smooth and satiny.
• Pat dough out into a flat shape and spread fruits over dough.
• Fold dough over fruits a couple of times and then knead until the fruits are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
• Cover dough and let it proof until doubled.
• Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces.
• Shape each piece of dough into a round ball and place on a greased sheet pan.
• Cover rolls and let them proof until almost doubled.
• Bake rolls at 425 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes.
• While rolls are baking, make a simple syrup of 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water and bring it to a full boil,stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.
• As soon as rolls come out of the oven, brush each roll top and sides, with syrup.
• When rolls cool, pipe a cross shape on top with a simple powdered sugar icing.

SOURDOUGH HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Before you start, ensure the sourdough starter is very bubbly (if it's not, feed it and wait until 1 tsp of the starter floats in warm water). Tip 200g of the starter into a large bowl with all but 2 tbsp of the egg, the milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, orange zest and raisins. Mix with your hands until you have a shaggy dough (all the flour should be mixed in). Or, do this in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to prove for 30 mins. Cover the rest of the sourdough starter and keep chilled.
• Work the butter and 1 tsp salt into the dough by squashing it in using your hands. Once fully combined, tip the dough onto a surface and knead gently for 5 mins until smooth and springy (again, this can be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). Form the dough into a ball, then return it to the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere slightly warm for 3-4 hrs to prove until the dough has almost doubled in size.
• Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead briefly, then divide into 12 pieces, about 100g each. Roll the pieces into balls and arrange on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, leaving some room between each. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel, then leave to prove again for 2-3 hrs at room temperature until doubled in size, or chill overnight (this will result in better flavour and a neater shape).
• If the buns have been chilled, remove from the fridge 1 hr before baking. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the buns with the reserved egg. Tip the remaining starter into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle, and pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 20-25 mins until light brown. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm, or cool completely. Best eaten on the day, but will keep for two days in an airtight container.

SOURDOUGH HOT CROSS BUNS WITH KAMUT WHEAT

Steps:

• I built 200 grams of ripe starter overnight by feeding 40g of starter with 80g water and 80g flour. This 1:2:2 feeding the night before worked well to have ripe starter by morning in a cold springtime kitchen. Other possibilities for timing and build are fine too.
• Dough Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• These instructions are for using a stand mixer, but hand/spatula mixing is fine too, and you may find that slapping and folding works well to incorporate the ingredients and develop gluten without a mixer.
• Heat the milk until it is quite warm but don't worry about reaching the scalding temp of 170F. You just want the milk hot enough to melt the butter and sugar.
• Chop the butter in pieces, then add it and the brown sugar to the hot milk. Stir until everything is mostly melted. Set aside to cool a bit while you prepare the other ingredients.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg, sourdough starter, flours, salt, and spices. Then add the warm milk-butter-sugar mixture.
• Mix with the dough hook on medium speed until the dough comes together, about 3-5 minutes. It's okay if the dough is a little sticky because the dried fruit will pull some moisture from the dough over time. (See the photos below for a sense of the dough consistency.)
• Finally, add the dried fruit to the mixer bowl and mix another minute or so.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place somewhere warm to rise until the dough has expanded by about 75% in size (see photos in gallery below). This could take five or more hours.
• Shaping and Final Proof
• Grease one 9"x 13" pan (15 rolls) or two round 9" inch pans (16 rolls).
• Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gently de-gas it by pressing down on the dough, and then divide it into 15 or 16 pieces.
• Roll the pieces into balls and place them in your pan(s) with some space between them.
• Cover and let the dough proof somewhere warm until the rolls have doubled, around three hours. (See the gallery below for pics of spacing and expansion).
• Decorating, Baking, and Icing
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• For the piped crosses, mix the flour and water in a small bowl and then spoon the paste into a small zip-top bag.
• Cut a 1/4" or smaller hole in one corner of the bag and pipe horizontal and vertical lines onto the buns.
• Bake the buns for 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if the buns are not browning evenly. You may choose, like I did, to then switch your oven to broil for 1 additional minute to further brown the tops of the buns. Keep a close eye on them if you do this.
• Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a towel or cooling rack.
• Mix a few tablespoons of orange juice (ideally fresh-squeezed) with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, and then brush the icing on the warm buns.
• You can serve these buns warm from the oven.
• Extra buns can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days. Reheat them for 10-15 seconds in the microwave, or by toasting them in a toaster oven.