Magnolia75: The Baking Lounge: Hot Cross Buns

I'd like to make a confession. I absolutely love all sorts of buns (take this as you will), hot buns, cold buns--heck anything that resembles a bun--like a biscuit or roll. Rolls are buns, right? Basically bread, yup pretty much---bread.

So today is Good Friday which is THE hot cross bun day, and Easter approaches...wow I swear every year Easter arrives earlier and earlier than expected. For some reason I thought Easter was always on April 25, I haven't even bought any Easter eggs, or basket. But come this time next year I shall have all the time in the world (hopefully I'll be employed or something so I can keep buying flour--lol), I cannot wait until this semester is over that is all I am saying, one more month of school: am ready for the final push. Anyways I have delicious buns to introduce!!

I love me some hot cross buns, they are in my tops favorite breads list!!

* Ingredients in blue are the ones I added to Martha's recipe!

Hot Cross Buns

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl and baking sheet
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons plus one pinch salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (otherwise known as mace)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (yes bare with me here)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/3 cups currants
1 cup candied lemon
1 cup candied pineapple
1 cup candied cherries
1/4 cup orange peel
1 tablespoon lemon emulsion
1 large egg white
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Generously butter a large bowl.
In a small saucepan set over medium heat, heat 1 cup milk until it is warm to the touch.
Pour warm milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. With mixer on low, add yeast, sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, melted butter, cinnamon, mace, garlic powder, cardamom, lemon emulsion and beaten eggs.
With mixer on low, add flour, 1 cup at a time, until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms around the dough hook, about 3 minutes. Continue kneading, scraping down hook and sides of bowl as necessary until smooth, about 4 minutes longer. Add currants, candied lemon, pineapple, cherries, orange peel and knead until combined.
Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead by hand to evenly distribute currants, candied fruit and orange peel for about 1 minute.
Shape dough into a ball, and place in the buttered bowl; turn ball to coat with butter, and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour 20 minutes. For a richer flavor, let dough rise in a refrigerator overnight. Do not skip this step!!
Generously butter an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet.
Turn dough out onto work surface, and knead briefly to redistribute the yeast. Divide dough into twenty-four equal pieces. Shape pieces into tight balls, and place on baking sheet, spaced 1/2 inch apart.
Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until touching and doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat oven to 375 degrees, with rack positioned in center.
To make egg wash, whisk together egg white, 1 tablespoon water, and pinch of salt in a small bowl; brush tops of buns with egg wash. Using very sharp scissors or a buttered slicing knife, slice a cross into the top of each bun.
Transfer pan to oven, and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
Make glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon milk, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon juice. Pipe or ladle glaze over buns, and serve.

Words of advise wait until buns cool to ice them otherwise the icing will run all over them.

Makes 24 buns.

I definitely loved these buns, the texture is nice not too soft yet not too hard at all. The spices are divine! I added cardamom because it smelled very good, the garlic powder was to add a kick to all the sweetness and to help distribute the mace, cardamom, and cinnamon-ny flavors...so that helped. The mace and orange peel, helped give the buns some color--a rich yellow-y not quite orange look. The lemon emulsion well I figured since I was adding citrus fruits (orange, and lemon) I may as well give in to the lemon emulsion, that and quite honestly I was a little concerned that all the other spices would crap out on me (isn't that always a concern/risk when trying to make your own recipe), but phew it all worked very, very well.