Yuzu and Honey Hot Cross Buns

I loves me a hot cross bun, don’t you? There’s somehow something really quite comforting about a fruity, spiced, sweet bun that you can only get at a certain time of the year. This recipe from the Japanese food company Yutaka uses their Yuzu Citrus Seasoning which is a tart, zesty juice based sauce that gives a lovely citrus taste to the buns.

These are obviously perfect for the Easter weekend, but if like me you love hot cross buns way more than is normal and you’re always a bit gutted when the shops no longer sell them, then now you can make them whenever you like!

What’s In It?

Buns

  • 575g Strong White bread Flour
  • 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk
  • 75g Caster Sugar
  • 75g Sultanas
  • 50g Unsalted Butter
  • 50g Mixed peel
  • 7g Easy Bake Yeast
  • Zest of 2 Lemons
  • 3 tbsp Honey
  • 2 tbsp Water
  • 1½ tbsp Yuzu
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Cross

  • 75g Plain Flour
  • Water to mix

Glaze

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tbsp Caster Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Water

How Do I Make It?

Stir together the strong flour, caster sugar, yeast, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl and place to one side.

Heat the milk, honey, yuzu, water, lemon zest and butter in a saucepan, making sure to stir continuously until the butter has melted. It may separate slightly as the acidity of the yuzu reacts with the milk, but don’t worry it will all come good when it’s mixed with the dry ingredients.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for a few mins.

Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour in the contents of the saucepan.

Mix together with a spoon and when the mixture starts to come together, get your hands in there until everything is well combined and you have a ball of sticky dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and stretchy. You could of course use a food mixer with a dough hook attachment to make life a little easier – I wouldn’t be without my KitchenAid!

Pop the dough in a greased bowl, cover over with greased cling film and leave somewhere warm until it has risen to roughly double its original size.

Add the sultanas and mixed peel to the dough and knead until well combined and the fruit is running throughout.

Cover over again and leave to rise in a warm place for a further hour.

When the dough is ready (it will probably have filled the bowl), divide into between 15-20 pieces and roll into smooth balls.

Place on greased baking sheets making sure to leave ample space between them, as they will expand as they bake.

Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for one more hour.

Preheat your oven to 220c or gas mark seven.

To make the cross, mix the plain flour with enough water to make a paste.

Place this paste in a piping bag and pipe a cross on the top of each of the buns.

You can brush the buns with beaten egg at this point to give them more colour when they bake, but this is completely personal preference.

Bake the buns for about 20 mins or until they are golden brown on top.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for roughly 15 minutes.

Mix the 1 tbsp of caster sugar with 1 tbsp of boiling water and brush over the top of the hot cross buns to give them a lovely shiny glaze.

TOP TIP – These won’t stay tasty for long (home made bread products tend to go hard or stale very quickly as they don’t have any of the preservatives and chemicals in them that the shop bought equivalents have) so I’ve basically given you a free pass to scoff them all!

To find out more about yuzu and other Japanese food products head to www.yutaka.london

*Ingredients gifted for recipe trial.


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