Makes 16

I am not sure at which point during the weekend I'd ideally instruct you to try your hand at these, but I think it's wise to get in early. You're meant to eat them on Good Friday, but I don't think we have to be so tied by tradition. Still, there are so few true examples of seasonal eating left, it would be pity to leave these out altogether.

I know you'd think, indeed I'd have thought, that it would be pointless to make something at home when the bought versions can be so good, but I find it peculiarly satisfying to make these, and although they look slightly ramshackle and unprofessional, they do have the edge on any store-bought stuff.

I make my hot cross buns slightly smaller than is traditional. Don't know why, just like them that way, but you form them the size you want, please. Just one thing I must be strict about: you do need to use proper bread flour here, not the usual all-purpose. There's no point going to all this effort and ruining your chances of success over such a small but significant point.

By effort, I don't mean you need to be hugely active or expert to make these; you just need the patience to sit around while they rise and the faith to believe they will. Very appropriate.

For the dough:
2/3 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast (¼ oz)
½ stick butter
¾ cup mixed dried fruit
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 clove
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups bread flour
1 egg

For the egg wash:
1 egg, beaten with a little milk

For the crosses on the buns:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
½ tablespoon superfine sugar

For the sugar glaze:
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water

Heat the milk, butter, orange zest, clove and cardamom pods in a saucepan until the butter melts, then leave to infuse. I have gone rather cardamom-mad recently, but this short, aromatic infusion gives a heavenly scent to the little fruited buns later.

Measure the flour, yeast and dried fruit into a bowl and add the spices. When the infused milk has reached blood temperature take out the clove and cardamom pods, and beat in the egg. Pour this liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Knead the dough either by hand or with a machine with a dough hook; if it is too dry add a little more warm milk or water. Keep kneading until you have silky, elastic dough, but bear in mind that the dried fruit will stop this from being exactly satin-smooth. Form into a ball and place in a buttered bowl covered with plastic wrap, and leave to rise overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.Punch the dough down, and knead it again until it is smooth and elastic. Divide into 16 balls and shape into smooth round buns. I wouldn't start worrying unduly about their size: just halve the dough, and keep halving it until it's in eight pieces, and use that piece of dough to make two buns. Or just keep the dough as it is, and pinch off pieces slightly larger than a ping-pong ball and hope you end up with 16 or thereabouts. Not that it matters.

Sit the buns on a parchment paper or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Make sure they are quite snug together but not touching. Using the back of an ordinary eating knife, score the tops of the buns with the imprint of a cross. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave to prove again for about 45 minutes—they should have risen and almost joined up.

Brush the buns with the egg wash, and then mix the flour, sugar and water into a smooth, thick, paste. Using a teaspoon, dribble two lines over the buns in the indent of the cross, and then bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes.

When the hot cross buns come out of the oven, mix the sugar and boiling water together for the glaze, and brush each hot bun to make them sweet and shiny.

Note:
You could ignore my instructions to leave the dough in the fridge to rise slowly overnight and instead leave the dough to rise for 1–1½ hours in a warmish place in the kitchen, but I always find it easier to go the overnight route, plus I think it gives a better taste and texture.

Copyright © 2007 by Nigella Lawson. All rights reserved.