The People Demand Hot Cross Buns

So many of you kind souls asked for the hot cross buns recipe I mentioned in my last post, that I thought I'd just put my recipe up online for all the world to enjoy!

Hot Cross Buns

makes 12

tweaked from a recipe of unknown origin!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

2/3 warm non-dairy milk (about 110 degrees F)

1/2 c warm water

1 c. all-purpose flour

3 c. flour (I use 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c sugar

3/4 c currants or raisins

1/3 c candied citron fruit

1 vegan "egg" (I used EnerG egg replacer: 1 1/2 tsp powder whisked with 2 Tbsp water)

1/2 c Earth Balance/soy margarine

Frosting:

Powdered sugar + Earth Balance + non-dairy milk

To Prepare:

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar, warm non-dairy milk, warm water, and 1 c of flour. Mix it well, and then set it aside to proof, about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar. Add in the currants and candied citron and whisk it another few times.

In a small bowl, stir together your Earth Balance and vegan egg substitute.

Add the EarthBalance+Egg Replacer mixture, and the yeast mixture to the big bowl with the flour and candied fruits. Combine it all, and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.... adding more flour to the kneading surface as necessary.

Rinse out your big mixing bowl, clean it and dry it. Gently oil the inside of the bowl, and then place the dough in the bowl. Cover with saran wrap or a moist dishtowel, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until about doubled in size.

After the first rise, punch down the dough. Separate the dough into quarters, and then separate each quarter into thirds, for a total of 12 buns-to-be. Shape your blobs into nice little balls, and then set them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silpat). Cover with saran wrap or a lightly damp dishtowel, and set aside in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour.

While they are rising for the second time, preheat your oven to 400F. Once the buns have risen for a second time, take a SHARP knife and gently slice an "X" on the top of each bun. Then bake the buns for 15-20 minutes, until golden.

Remove from oven, and transfer to a cooling rack. Once they are more or less cool, you can make your frosting. If you rush it and put the frosting on right away, it will just melt off and make a mess. So, have a little patience, please! I don't have an exact recipe for the frosting - I just pour some powdered sugar into a cereal bowl, add in a Tbsp or so of Earth Balance, then a tiny little bit of soymilk or almond milk. I start stirring and if it's too liquidy, I add more powdered sugar and more EB. If it's too thick and dry, I carefully add another tiny little bit of milk... until I get the texture I want. You can use fresh lemon juice or orange juice for some/all of the liquid for a nice citrus-y zip. Put the frosting in a zip lock bag and zip it shut. Cut a hole in one corner of the zip lock bag, about the size of a pencil eraser. Squeeze the frosting into the "x"-shaped crevasses on each bun.

Eat and rejoice!