Hot Cross Buns

Instructions

Cooking piece

1. Bring the flour and water to the boil in a saucepan on the hob, stirring constantly.
2. As soon as the starch has gelatinised, place the cooked piece in a bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 2-3 hours

Main dough

1. Knead all the ingredients up to and including the lemon zest in a food processor for 3-4 minutes.
2. Then increase the kneading speed and knead the dough for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Then briefly fold the sultanas into the batter.
4. Place the dough in a bowl, cover and leave to rest at room temperature for 40-50 minutes.

Shaping

1. After the proofing time, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and divide into 12 pieces of about 135 g each.
2. Grind the dough pieces 2-3 times over an unfloured work surface to obtain a smooth surface
3. Then shape all the dough pieces into even balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper (or greased)
4. Cover the dough pieces and leave to ferment at room temperature for 2 hours.

Completion

1. Mix the icing sugar, flour and water until lump-free and pour into a piping bag fitted with a 5-mm nozzle.
2. After piece proofing, pipe a cross on each piece of dough with this mixture
3. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees top/bottom heat.

Baking

1. Place the buns on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and reduce the baking temperature to 190 degrees.
2. Bake the buns for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Glazing

1. Bring the jam to the boil in a saucepan on the hob and then spread it on the buns while they are still hot.