when we do photoshoots we love to use elements from our community like flowers from a local farm or food from a local chef. a while back we collaborated mimi from homemade. they made a bunch of lovely food for us to take photos of. one of my favorite things that they made were these hot cross buns and i thought that they would be a great thing to make for easter! i asked mimi to share her favorite hot cross buns recipe with us. it is from the bouchon bakery book.
ingredients
yields: 12 buns
For the buns:Dried Currants 3/4cup
Dried Cranberries ½ cup
Vanilla bean ¼
All-purpose flour 2 ½ cups+ 2 ½ Tblsp
Instant yeast 2 3/8 tsp
Granulated Sugar 3 Tblsp + 2 tsp
Fine seas salt 1 ½ tsp
Eggs 1 ½ eggs (88 grams)
Whole Milk ¼ cup
Unsalted butter 5.8 oz (cut into ½ inch cubes and at room temp)
To make the dough:
In a medium sized mixing bowl place dried currants and cranberries. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the dried fruit. Let sit for 5 minutes then strain off additional water and pat dry with paper towel. Dry the bowl and return fruit to the bowl and mix with the scraped seeds of the ¼ vanilla bean.In a stand mixer: place the flour and yeast in the bowl fitted with a dough hook and mix on low for about 15 minutes to distribute the yeast evenly. Add sugar, salt, eggs an whole milk. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes until dough comes together and then continue to mix for another 30 minutes. Next add the butter a few pieces at a time allowing the butter to fully incorporate before adding the next batch. Once all the butter is added, stop and scrape down the sides and then mix in low for another 10 minutes.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Add the plumped fruit and gently need in. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold like a letter: left of dough pulled out over 2/3rds of the dough and then right side out over the remainder. Repeat this process again. Gently pick the dough up and place in large lightly buttered bowl seam side down. Allow to rest, covered, for 45minutes at room temperature. Repeat one more “letter” fold and then return the bowl to rest for another 45 minutes. Spray a ¼ sheet pan with pan spray and line the bottom with parchment. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper or dull chef knife divide the dough into 12 even pieces: 78 grams each. Using the palms of your hands make into even round balls and place seam side down at in rows 3 by 4 evenly spaced. Top with egg wash and cover pan with a box or plastic tub to proof for 1- 1½ hours until the balls have risen and are touching each other.
Bake at 350°F 25- 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
photos by kristen bach, recipe by bouchon bakery book, and baked by anjuli berstein of homemade catering