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Sourdough Hot Cross Buns

Here is a sweet treat of homemade sourdough hot cross buns perfect for serving with your Good Friday dinner after breaking your day-long fast.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Resting and Rise Time2 hours 20 minutes
Total Time3 hours 20 minutes
Course: Breads
Cuisine: English
Servings: 24 Hot Cross Buns
Calories: 190kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large sized bowl
  • 1 Medium sized bowl
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 Wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk
  • 1 Stand mixer with whisk and dough hook optional
  • 1 9x13 Baking dish
  • 1 Sharp knife or French lame A lame is a French baker's tool. It is pronounced like "mom," but starts with the "L" sound.
  • 1 Small saucepan
  • 1 Silicone pastry brush optional

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Fed sourdough starter 100% hydration (Read the recipe blog post for a definition.)
  • 3 tbsp Sugar, granulated
  • 1-2 med to large Oranges, zested and juice reserved If oranges are medium-sized, use two. If large, use one.
  • 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp Ground allspice
  • 3 large Eggs Two eggs are for the dough, and the third egg is for the "wash"
  • 1/4 cup Honey, pourable An additional 1 teaspoon of honey will be needed for the glaze.
  • 1 cup Milk, preferably whole milk
  • 1 cup Water An additional 1 tablespoon will be needed for icing.
  • 5 cups Flour All-purpose or bread flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Currants Raisins can be substituted for the currants. Citron could also be used.
  • 1 tsp Baking soda optional
  • 4 tbsp Butter Plus 1 tablespoon of butter for buttering the baking dish.
  • 1 tsp Olive oil This is for greasing the bowl.
  • 1/2 cup Powdered sugar Also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar.

Instructions

  • To a large-sized bowl (or stand mixer bowl, if using), add two cups of sourdough starter.
  • To the large bowl, add the granulated sugar, orange zest cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Set aside.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, add 2 eggs and 1/4 cup honey, and whisk together. Next, add milk and 1 cup water and whisk together well.
  • Add the mixture in medium bowl to the large bowl and whisk everything together until completely incorporated.
  • Begin adding one cup of flour at a time into the wet mixture in the large bowl. You want a wet sticky dough, which will usually take adding the total 5 cups of flour.
  • Mix well after each addition of flour. You can do this by hand with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Alternatively, you can do this using a stand mixer with the dough whisk attachment.
  • Mix the dough until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Approximately 5-10 minutes.
  • Cover the bowl, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
  • Add salt and currants to the bowl and mix well until completely incorporated. Approximately 1 minute.
  • If using baking soda, add it along with salt and currants. (Please see RECIPE NOTES.)
  • Add butter to the bowl and mix well until completely incorporated. Approximately 1-2 minutes.
  • Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead for approximately 15-20 minutes until it is no longer sticky but very smooth. If you are using a stand mixer, this will take approximately 10 minutes.
  • Grease the large mixing bowl with olive oil. (If you are using a stand mixer, remove the kneaded dough from the mixer bowl and grease the bowl. Then return the dough to the greased mixer bowl.)
  • Place the kneaded dough back into the greased large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise or double in bulk for 1 hour.
  • While the dough is rising, add the orange juice and 1 teaspoon of honey to a small saucepan. Mix well and place on medium-high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat to low and allow the juice and honey mixture to simmer until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and set aside, but cover the saucepan to keep the mixture warm.
  • Next, heavily grease a 9"x13" baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
  • After one hour, punch down the dough and divide the dough into 24 equally-sized pieces. (See video.)
  • Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place it into the greased baking dish.
  • Loosely cover the baking dish containing the dough balls with plastic wrap and then a dish towel and place the dish in a warm place to allow the dough balls to rise to double in size. Approximately 1 hour.
  • Once the dough balls have risen sufficiently after approximately 1 hour, use a sharp knife or a lame (a French baker's tool) to make two cuts to form a cross on the top of each dough ball. Set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).
  • In a small bowl, whisk one egg and 1 tablespoon of water together. Brush this mixture over the tops of the risen dough balls using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon.
  • Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15-18 minutes until the hot cross buns are golden brown.
  • Once hot cross buns are finished baking, remove them from the oven and place the baking dish on a heatproof surface. While still in the baking dish, immediately brush the juice honey mixture on the tops of the buns. This works best using a silicone pastry brush, but if you do not have one, you can use the back of a spoon.
  • Leave the hot cross buns in the baking dish to cool.
  • While the hot cross buns are cooling, make the icing by mixing together the powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of water (milk can also be used in place of the water) in a bowl and then transfer to a pastry bag or plastic bag. If you use a plastic bag, you will need to cut off the tip of the bag. (See video.)
  • Once the hot cross buns have completely cooled, pipe the icing in a cross pattern on top of each bun.
  • Your hot cross buns are now ready to serve or can be covered loosely and served later in the day at dinner time.
  • If any hot cross buns remain after dinner, cover them loosely and leave at room temperature. They are best if they are all consumed by the next day.
  • You can make the hot cross buns a day ahead and refrigerate them. Make sure they are wrapped well and take care not to disrupt the icing. To serve, remove the hot cross buns from the refrigerator, uncover, and allow them to return to room temperature before serving.
  • Hot cross buns may also be frozen for 2-3 months if wrapped well. However, you might want to refrigerate them first to allow the icing to harden before wrapping them for the freezer. When ready to eat, remove the buns from the freezer, unwrap them, and allow them to defrost and return to room temperature before serving.

Video

Notes

A note about the use of baking soda when working with sourdough:
In the video, I explain that the baking soda will help tamp down the sour flavor of sourdough, if the sour taste concerns you. However, keep in mind that we will not allow the hot cross buns dough to rise overnight. We will use a short rise, which is sufficient to raise the dough but not long enough to give the dough a significant sourdough flavor.
Find this recipe and video at https://marysnest.com/how-to-make-sourdough-hot-cross-buns/
For more traditional foods recipes and a guide to build your traditional foods kitchen, get my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, at https://marysnest.com/my-cookbook/
Copyright © 2022 Mary's Nest, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 117IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg