Cranberry Hot Cross Buns - easy sweet hot cross buns

Ingredients

• 500 g strong white bread flour ((plus extra for dusting))
• 10 g salt
• 10 g instant yeast
• 80 g caster sugar
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 120 ml semi-skimmed milk ((warm))
• 100 ml water ((room temperature))
• 75 g cranberries
• 75 g currants
• 80 g mixed peel ((chopped))
• 2 limes ((zest only))
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 75 g plain flour / all purpose flour
• 75 ml water
• 100 g apricot jam ((use smooth for best results))

Instructions

1. 1

   Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the salt, sugar and yeast.

2. 2

   Add the soft butter, eggs, milk and half the water. Here is where it gets messy. With one hand start bring all the mix together. Add a little more water if you need it to make a soft but not soggy dough

3. 3

   Tip the dough from the bowl and knead for 5-10 minutes with a little flour to stop it sticking to the work top until smooth.

4. 4

   Add the cranberries, currants, mixed peel, lime zest, mixed spice and cinnamon to the dough and knead in until evenly spread through the dough.

5. 5

   Pop the dough into lightly oiled bowl and leave for at least an hour until doubled in size. I left it for 2 hours.

6. 6

   Take the dough from the bowl and give it a quick knead to get the air out.

7. 7

   Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

8. 8

   Divide into 12 and place the balls on the tray with about a 1cm gap between them.

9. 9

   Place the baking tray somewhere warm for 1 hour for the buns to rise.

10. 10

    Meanwhile, heat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan.

11. 11

    For the crosses mix the flour and water in to a thick paste. Pop the flour paste into a piping bag and draw the crosses across the buns.

12. 12

    Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

13. 13

    While the hot cross buns are baking warm the apricot jam as soon as it’s baked remove from the oven and brush over the tops of the warm buns to glaze.

14. 14

    Leave to cool slightly before tucking in.