Hot Cross Buns

Step 1
Heat bread flour and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens and forms a thick paste, reaching 65°C. Transfer to a plate, cover with cling wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.

Soaked Sultanas
Step 2
Soak sultanas in strong tea for 30 minutes before draining and discarding the liquid.

Yeast Starter
Step 3
To check the health of your yeast, bloom the yeast by adding it to tepid milk and let stand for 10 minutes until bubbles form on top.

Dough
Step 4
Add bread flour, brown sugar, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt, eggs, orange zest, Tangzhong, and yeast starter to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 5
Using the dough hook attachment, mix for 10-12 minutes until smooth and coming away from the sides of the bowl.

Step 6
Add the butter and mix until incorporated (approximately another 5 minutes).

Step 7
Turn the dough onto a bench and incorporate the drained sultanas. Form a ball, then place into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Step 8
Allow dough to begin to rise for 30 minutes as the spices inhibit the yeast so this gives the yeast a head start before placing in fridge to rise overnight. The dough is extremely sticky, so an overnight rise helps with handling the dough.

Step 9
Take the dough out of the fridge and allow to warm up for around an hour before shaping into balls (20 approx 85g each) and placing on a lined baking tray so that each ball is just touching its neighbour. If the dough is still too sticky to handle, dust the top of each ball with flour as you are shaping.

Step 10
Leave to rise for 30-45 minutes or until the balls have risen and the dough slowly springs back when touched. Toward the end of the rise, preheat oven to 160°C.

Crosses
Step 11
Combine flour, water, and oil to make cross mixture. Add more of each until a nice consistency is achieved. Transfer to a Ziploc bag and cut the tip of a corner off to pipe onto buns.

Step 12
Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 90°C.

Sugar Glaze
Step 13
While baking, combine hot water and jam to make glaze and immediately brush onto buns when they are removed from the oven.

Step 14
Remove from tray and leave to cool on a wire rack, covered with a tea towel.