Today I decided to make these Hot Cross Buns to celebrate Easter. I’ve always wanted to make them but for the past few years I’ve always been too busy to celebrate, as I’ve had exams to study for but finally this year I had my exams finished earlier in the semester. Now as for alterations for this recipe, I used Fleischmann’s Instant Yeast rather than the Active Dry Yeast to make it a bit quicker. As a result, I skipped the first step of the recipe and mixed the melted butter, sugar, milk, and salt as my first step then added the egg, and added the yeast to the flour mixture instead of adding the yeast to warm water. I also ended up microwaving the liquid mixture for 1.5min rather than the 1min shown in the recipe. From there, I added 1 cup of raisins to the dough and for the flour paste I would say I needed about ¼-1/3 cup more water added to the mixture. However, I would say that you would only need to make a smaller quantity than what is shown. Next time, I’d probably reduce it to 1/2cup flour and use 1/4cup of water and a bit with 1 tbsp of sugar, as my crosses ended up a bit too thin once baked. As for heating up the milk glaze I would say 15-20seconds is long enough, as I had to take mine out earlier than the 30sec I put it in for at 25sec because it overflowed a bit. I then used a pastry brush to spread the glaze over the buns and voila they were done. The end result was a bit lumpier than I would have liked but I think it may have been because I forgot to spend the time shaping them into buns by wrapping the ends to the bottom like I learned at the PICA summer camp from years back. Overall, this recipe turned out alright, however, the dough ended up a bit dense, which may have been caused by the yeast. But with a few alterations and tries I think I would know how to make this even better next time, or perhaps a different recipe. Hope you enjoyed this review and Happy Easter!
Here is the link to recipe: africanbites.com
