Hot Cross Buns, Easy Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Hot Cross Buns, Easy Hot Cross Buns Recipe.

Best Ever Easy UK Hot Cross Buns Recipe with yeast. Part Wholemeal. For Easter Good Friday. With step by step pictures.

Hot Cross Buns is a very traditional bun eaten during Easter. Hot Cross Buns is a sweet spiced bun that’s studded with dry fruits like raisins and currants. A cross is marked on the bun. The cross can either be a piped sweet icing marked after the bun is baked or a cross that’s drawn on the bun before it goes into the oven using a simple flour water mixture.

My Husband loves sweet buns. I have been making hot cross buns every year for sometime now. We used to get these Hot Cross Buns at a nearby local bakery during Easter time when we lived in the USA. I would just go to the bakery and stand there looking at them shaping Challah loaves or load the bread dough in the oven. The smell of fresh baked bread would waft in the air. It was a traditional Jewish bakery but they made amazing hot cross buns. They etched the cross on the buns with a flour mixture that would bake into this nice white lines on the bun. Hot Cross Buns were soft, moist and loaded with fruits. Here is the recipe for awesome Hot Cross Buns.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes. Let it foam. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again.

In the mean time, measure and add all the ingredients listed as main ingredients under the Hot Cross Buns recipe section to a bowl. Both wet and dry. Add in the yeast mixture. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead for 5 minutes on medium speed. Don’t add additional flour while kneading. The dough will be slightly sticky. Knead for a GOOD 10 minutes by hand. Scrape the dough from the bench with a help of a metal scraper and continue kneading. Scraper is a very essential tool for kneading sticky dough. Repeat till completely kneaded. The dough will slowly come together. Remember NOT to add extra flour while kneading.

After kneading, when the dough feels smooth, just tuck the dough tight and place it on a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or a shower cap (cool idea) and leave to rise until at least doubled in size . About 1.5 to 2 hours.

Remove the dough onto a flat surface and mix in the dry fruits. Knead it gently until evenly incorporated.

Cover and leave to rise for one more hour.

After the rise, remove the dough and fold it twice or thrice gently to release the air bubbles.

Roll the dough into a log, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into round balls. Place them fairly close together on an oiled sheet pan. Cover the pan with a plastic sheet or a tea towel and let it rise for another hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200°C

For the cross

Mix the flour and water to a paste. Fill up a piping bag with the paste. Make a cross on the buns and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the glaze

Mix the apricot jam and water and microwave for 15 seconds. Brush over the top of the buns when still warm. Cool the buns on a wire rack.

Enjoy the Hot Cross Buns!

For the yeast mixture

• 2 teaspoon Active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup Water
• a pinch of Sugar

Main Ingredients

• 500 grams All purpose flour – Maida
• 100 grams Whole wheat flour – Atta
• 50 grams Sugar
• 25 grams Butter
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 160 ml Milk ( 2/3 cup )
• 160 ml water ( 2/3 cup )

Other Ingredients

• 50 grams Sultanas
• 50 grams Raisins
• 50 grams Currants

For the Cross

• 80 grams Flour
• 80 grams Water ( 1/3 cup )

For the glaze

• 3 tablespoon Apricot Jam
• 2 tablespoon Water

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. In the mean time, measure and add all the ingredients listed under main ingredients to a bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead for 5 minutes on medium speed. Don’t add additional flour while kneading. The dough will be slightly sticky.
3. Just tuck the dough tight and place it on a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or a shower cap (cool idea) and leave to rise until at least doubled in size . About 1.5 to 2 hours.
4. Remove the dough onto a flat surface and mix in the dry fruits. Knead in until evenly incorporated.
5. Cover and leave to rise for one more hour.
6. After the rise, remove the dough and fold it twice or thrice gently to release the air bubbles.
7. Roll the dough into a log, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into round balls. Place them fairly close together on an oiled sheet pan. Cover the pan with a plastic sheet or a tea towel and let it rise for another hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200°C
8. For the cross – Mix the flour and water to a paste. Fill up a piping bag with the paste. Make a cross on the buns and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. For the glaze – Mix the apricot jam and water and microwave for 15 seconds. Brush over the top of the buns when still warm. Cool the buns on a wire rack.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 4 hours
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Bread
• Cuisine: English

For the yeast mixture

• 2 teaspoon Active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup Water
• a pinch of Sugar

Main Ingredients

• 500 grams All purpose flour – Maida
• 100 grams Whole wheat flour – Atta
• 50 grams Sugar
• 25 grams Butter
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 160 ml Milk ( 2/3 cup )
• 160 ml water ( 2/3 cup )

Other Ingredients

• 50 grams Sultanas
• 50 grams Raisins
• 50 grams Currants

For the Cross

• 80 grams Flour
• 80 grams Water ( 1/3 cup )

For the glaze

• 3 tablespoon Apricot Jam
• 2 tablespoon Water

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. In the mean time, measure and add all the ingredients listed under main ingredients to a bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead for 5 minutes on medium speed. Don’t add additional flour while kneading. The dough will be slightly sticky.
3. Just tuck the dough tight and place it on a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or a shower cap (cool idea) and leave to rise until at least doubled in size . About 1.5 to 2 hours.
4. Remove the dough onto a flat surface and mix in the dry fruits. Knead in until evenly incorporated.
5. Cover and leave to rise for one more hour.
6. After the rise, remove the dough and fold it twice or thrice gently to release the air bubbles.
7. Roll the dough into a log, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into round balls. Place them fairly close together on an oiled sheet pan. Cover the pan with a plastic sheet or a tea towel and let it rise for another hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200°C
8. For the cross – Mix the flour and water to a paste. Fill up a piping bag with the paste. Make a cross on the buns and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. For the glaze – Mix the apricot jam and water and microwave for 15 seconds. Brush over the top of the buns when still warm. Cool the buns on a wire rack.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 4 hours
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Bread
• Cuisine: English

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/hot-cross-buns/

Chana Masala, Easy Chana Masala Recipe.

Easy Chana Masala recipe using masala powder. Hearty Indian Chickpea curry. With step by step pictures.

There are so many different ways in which you can do a hearty Chana Masala. This is the Chana Masala I make when I need to feed a crowd. Whenever there is an Indian party or a pot luck, someone is always bringing Chana Masala. Chana Masala is hearty, liked universally by everyone and it tastes delicious. I pressure cook the chick pea and add it to the Chana Masala gravy. People soak the dry chickpeas in water over night. But, I usually soak the chickpeas for just 2-3 hours and then pressure cook it for 20 minutes. It comes out fantastically, every single time. Here is how to do a Chana Masala that will feed a crowd.

Soak the chickpeas for 2-3 hours. You can soak it over night if you want to but it just works fine with 3 hours. I soaked 1.5 cups of chickpea. Boil the chickpea in a pressure cooker with 6 cups of water for 20 minutes in medium flame. After 20 minutes, remove the cooker and let the pressure release naturally on its own. Set aside.

In the mean time, heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon and the cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the chopped onions.

When the onions are frying, puree ginger and garlic with 1/4 cup of water in a blender. Set aside.

Fry till onions are soft and starting to brown. Add in the ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute.

Puree 5-6 tomatoes in a blender and add it to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and Chana Masala powder. You can use any store bought Chana Masala powder.

Add in the cooked chickpea along with the water if any. Add in 1 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on low flame for 40 minutes until thick. Keep stirring once every 10 minutes, so it does not scorch at the bottom.

Once the gravy is thick, remove off heat.

Serve the Chana Masala hot.

• 1 1/2 cups chickpea chana
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 medium sized onions, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 inch piece ginger
• 5 - 6 ripe medium tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chana masala powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon and the cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the chopped onions. Fry till onions are soft and starting to brown.
2. Add in the ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute.
3. Puree 5-6 tomatoes in a blender and add it to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and Chana Masala powder. You can use any store bought Chana Masala powder.
4. Add in the cooked chickpea along with the water if any. Add in 1 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on low flame for 40 minutes until thick. Keep stirring once every 10 minutes, so it does not scorch at the bottom.
5. Once the gravy is thick, remove off heat.
6. Serve hot.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Side dish
• Cuisine: Indian