Hot sticky buns, fresh from the oven, studded with fruit and spice, with a cute little cross on top, these Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but are so good, you'll want to make them more than once a year!
Combine the dough ingredients in your stand mixer or a large bowl if doing by hand - and knead for about 10 minutes.
Add the spices, brown sugar and raisins, and knead until elastic and smooth.
Let rise in a warm place for about an hour (dough will triple in size).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 roughly equal pieces. Roll them into balls, and place them on a baking stone (or cookie sheet lined with parchment) or baking pan. The balls of dough should almost touch each other.
MAKE THE CROSSES
In a small bowl, combine the flour and water until smooth.
Transfer to a zip lock bag, seal. Snip off the corner and pipe the crosses onto the surface of the buns.
Cover with plastic wrap (loosely) or a clean kitchen towel.
Allow the buns to rise at room temperature a further 20 minutes (up to 30mins - they should double in size)
BAKE & GLAZE
Bake in a preheated oven 400°F for 20-25 minutes (buns should be a golden brown).
Meanwhile, make the glaze by combining the sugar and water, and heat in the microwave or a saucepan until it forms a simple syrup.
Remove buns from the oven and while piping hot brush over the sugar glaze.
Cool on a rack.
Notes
Bread machine instructions 1. Add all dough ingredients into the bread machine in the order as listed by the manufacturer. 2. Set a timer for 20 minutes if your machine doesn’t have a fruit addition timer built-in. Turn the machine on using “dough only” function. 3. After 20 minutes, add the spices, brown sugar and raisins. 4. When the dough cycle completes, remove the dough onto a well floured surface and divide into 16 roughly equal pieces. Roll them into balls, and place them on a baking stone (or cookie sheet lined with parchment). The balls of dough should touch each other. 5. Follow the instructions as from "make the crosses"