(Dried) Cranberries With Lemon Hot Cross Buns

On By cruiseoflifeIn Pao, Bread Rolls, Bread Sticks, and Bread Loaf

I’m welcoming Easter by practicing making hot cross buns. It wasn’t my favorite bread to make because I failed miserably (twice) when trying different recipes for my hot cross buns. So I stopped for 4 years until I finally had the motivation (and courage) to make a new batch of freshly baked hot cross buns. Well, the number one reason was actually because I had a small jar of dried cranberry (no sugar added) that we bought in Madrid during our year end holiday to Spain (and it was such a beautiful Christmas market and we just couldn’t say no to all the goodies that was sold there). That was the story how I ended up with these mini cranberry buns.

I was so glad that it turned really nice and I loved these sweet, soft, sticky, and shiny buns (as long as my buns were cute and shiny, I would be happy with the result, but seriously, these buns were so good and soft and taste really good). This was absolutely one of the best buns that I’ve ever baked. It turned out, that simple is sometimes better. No sausages, meat floss, ham, cheese, meat, or chocolate added unlike the bread that I usually made, the buns were actually quite simple but so flavorful.

I really loved these sweet little buns so much. They were crispy on the outside but soft and chewy with lots of melted chocolate inside. These buns contained lots of chocolate, and since I loved chocolate so much, I didn’t mind at all. Well, these might be not my lil boy’s favorite since he was a cheese lover, but after I made cheese buns for weeks, I thought this should be the time to switch to chocolate.

Since it turned out so well, I can’t wait to try making other flavor too, maybe coffee since my parents are here and they like coffee flavor.

As lemon is always one of my favorite ingredient to bake with, I incorporated lemon (the zest and the juice) in the bread dough. Not too worry the lemon taste in the bread, it added flavor but barely recognizable once you bite the bread.

Ingredients:

For The Bread:

  1. zest of 2 lemon
  2. 100 gr sugar
  3. lemon juice from 1 lemon
  4. 250 gr plain white milk
  5. 100 gr dried cranberries
  6. 1 large egg
  7. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  8. 500 gr bread flour
  9. 10 gr instant yeast
  10. 50 gr salted butter

For the crosses:

  1. 40 gr all purpose flour
  2. 5 to 6 tbsp water
  3. a pinch of salt

For The Glaze:

  1. honey
  2. 1 tbsp lemon juice

Other:

  1. Milk to brush the dough
  2. Oil to grease the bowl
  3. Butter to serve

Method:

  1. Rub together sugar with the zest of 2 lemons using your finger tips to release their natural citrus oils and infusing the sugar. Set aside the mixture
  2. In the mixing bowl, combine lemon juice and milk and soak the dried cranberries for about 10 minutes
  3. Into the bowl, add sugar and lemon zest mixture, followed by egg, ground cinnamon, bread flour, and instant yeast
  4. Using a mixer, start mixing the dough in low speed until the dough clings to the hooks and cleans sides of the bowl, then add salted butter
  5. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth, elastic, and bounces back when you press the dough with your finger. The dough should be in windowpane stage
  6. Place dough in a bowl and cover with cling wrap and a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Note: lightly grease the bowl and the dough with oil so the dough won’t be sticky to handle and shape. To see if the dough has risen enough, simply poke your finger into the dough, and if the fingermark stays, then it has finished rising
  7. Punch the dough to release the air, then divide into 20
  8. Lightly grease your hand with oil, then roll into balls and lay on baking sheets (30 x 25 cm) lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to prove for 1 hour or more, then brush the top with milk
  9. Mix together all purpose flour, water, and salt until smooth but in sticky consistency and pourable (use 4 to 5 tbsp water to mix). Spoon into piping bag and cut to make a small opening, then pipe crosses into each rising bun
  10. Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 170 Celsius oven or until the top is golden brown
  11. While the buns are baking make the glaze by mixing together honey (about 4 tbsp) with 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  12. Once the buns are baked, immediately glaze with the mixture
  13. Leave to cool slightly, then transfer to a cooling rack and cover. Keep for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container
  14. Reheat and serve warm with butter

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