Recipe from Our Delicious Adventure by Jane Grover

Yummm…these hot cross buns are delicious! Served with a maple syrup glaze and butter while warm is a huge treat. I found that the dried fruit in it was really nice, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like fruit cake. I didn’t put as much fruit in as the recipe said, but it was still yummy. I also love the spices and flavors throughout this recipe, I found it really scrumptious.

Thanks Jane for this recipe xx

Makes 16

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups (585g) white spelt flour, plus extra for kneading
• 14g dried yeast
• 1/4 cup (40g) rapadura sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (80g) currants
• 1/2 cup (80g) raisins
• 1/2 cup (80g) sultanas
• 50g butter, softened
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 300ml full cream milk or natural yoghurt

Flour Paste

• 75g white spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oli
• 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange blossom water

Glaze

• 1/2 cup (125ml) water
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the rosemary, dried fruit, butter, eggs and milk or yoghurt and use your hands to mix to a soft dough. (This can be done in a mixer, if you have one with a large bowl and dough hook attached.) The dough should be moist but not sticky. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-5 minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel, and leave in a warm place for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour), until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan forced) and line a baking tray with a sheet of non-stick baking paper. Remove the dough from the bowl to a floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Divide dough into 16 portions (weighing 100g each). Roll each portion int a ball and place on the tray 1cm apart. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 15-30 minutes until doubled in size and buns are touching each other.

To make the flour paste, mix the ingredients into a wet paste and place into a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle, or a strong plastic bag with the corner cut off. Pipe the mixture into the shape of a cross, onto each bun. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for the glaze, place the water and maple syrup into a small saucepan, bring to the boil, the reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes to form a glaze. Generously brush glaze over the hot buns as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve the hot cross buns warm, with lots of butter.