Hot Cross Buns

Since today is Good Friday, I tried baking something more for this occasion...

Yeah!!! Hot Cross Buns!!!

Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns
One a penny, two a penny
Hot Cross Buns!

ha ha!!! This is some song that I used to sing a lot when I was a child.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. They are sweet buns with spices and raisins added, with a cross marked on top of the bun. I came across different methods (recipes) of marking the cross. The most common uses pastry, which is mixing flour and water together to a paste-y consistency and then piped onto the risen buns before sending them to bake in the oven. I have also came across another method that uses icing to mark the crosses after the buns are baked.

Well, as much as I am tempted to use icing to mark the crosses, I told myself to try out the pastry since it's more challenging... Haha!!! Mistake... BIG mistake!!! Coz I had a hard time in making the pastry right. I spent so much time in meddling with the pastry that my buns were over-proofed. And I guess the crosses I made were toooooo thick!. Kinda heavy for the risen buns that they actually got "deflated" when I piped the pastry cross on them. Then... The recipe that I followed (from LCB Complete Cook Home Collection) also provided a kind of glaze which I am not familiar with. It requires milk to be boiled with sugar and spices till the sugar dissolved. This glaze is to be brushed on top of the buns the moment they come out of the oven and after they have cooled. I tried, but I felt the glaze effect wasn't as glossy as it seems from the picture given in the recipe. And my buns were kinda sticky with the glaze. Maybe it would be better if I had just used eggwash?

And so, I think the buns didn't turn out as pretty as I wanted it to be. It tasted a little sour (from being over-proofed) too. I also felt that the buns were a little dry. I actually doubled the liquid stated in the bread recipe because I felt the dough were too dry while kneading. It still turned out a little dry and hard though. Aiyo!!! But luckily, the dried fruits (which were plumped with brandy) within the buns sort of covered the flaws. So they are still edible... Hahaha!!!

And for my next attempt (dunno when), I will use some tried and tested sweet buns recipes to make the buns and use the icing method to pipe the crosses!!! hahaha!!!