Easter Mini Hot Cross Buns

An Easter baking recipe favourite for kids that remembers the importance of a fresh start followng Easter day. Kids will love cooking these traditional style buns while filling the room with their lovely freshly cooked aromas.

Method

Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter.
Mix everything together to form a dough – start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it’s too wet, add more flour.
Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy.
Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size – this will take about 45 mns depending on how warm the room is.
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.

Servings

13 Buns (bakers dozen)

Ingredients

For the dough

450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
2 x 7g sachets easy-blend yeast
50g caster sugar
150ml warm milk

To decorate

4 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar

For the spices and dried fruit

1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
100g currants
1 egg, beaten
50g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
oil, for greasing

Tip

Shaping-Up

Try rollng pastry dough into a long sausage shape, quarter it and then divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Pop one of the rolls of dough into the freezer and you’ll be able to whip-up a future batch. with minimum effort! The dough

can be frozen for up to six months. Defrost in the fridge four hours before using.