Not so classic, apple, Medjool date & orange hot cross buns
Just a little make over for these Easter staples, I will have mine lightly toasted with some butter and plum jam, although if you check further on down to my alternative idea, you will not regret putting in the effort in making these delicious buns.
Date, apple & orange hot cross buns
Slight alternative to the original recipe, not quite as sweet, but with the addition of coconut sugar and its caramel notes, and along with Medjool dates added fudgy sweetness,these should be a happy addition to your Easter treats. Enjoy
Ingredients
- 300g Strong plain flour
- 50g Wholemeal spelt flour
- 50g Rye Flour
- 4g Dried
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 50g Coconut sugar
- 40g Sourdough starter (Optional)
- ½ x Tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ x Tsp smoked paprika
- Zest of 1 orange
- 150g Ful fat milk
- 50g crème fraiche
- 50g butter
- 80g Shredded apple (approx. 1 medium apple)
- 100g Chopped Medjool dates
- 2 x medium eggs – one will be used for brushing the buns before going into the oven.
Directions
- In a medium sized bowl, blend together 150g plain flour, the spelt and rye flours, cinnamon, smoked paprika, and dried yeast.
- Warm the milk gently with the butter & coconut sugar, remove from heat. Whisk in the crème fraiche and stir into the flour mix along with the sourdough (if using). You will have a sticky dough -cover and leave for 1 hour.
- Mix in the rest of the plain flour, salt and beaten egg and bring together to form a dough and knead for 7 minutes. Place in a clean oiled bowl – cover with clean tea towel and leave to double in size, approx. 1 ½ -2 hours.
- Tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten out into a circle, add the dates, shredded apple & zest and mix into the dough – using a little flour on your hands will help if it is a bit sticky. Divide into 10 equal pieces – using scales to weigh each bun will help to give them some uniformity. 4.Shape each piece by using a circular motion with the palm of your hand on a lightly floured surface to achieve the final ball shape – you could also shape the dough by rolling it between the palms of your hand in a similar circular motion, if you would feel this would be easier.
- Place on parchment lined baking tray and cover, leave to rise for approx. 1 hour. After the dough has risen, brush with beaten egg – this helps to create a shiny glaze.
- Just before baking, blend together some flour and water mix, place in a piping bag with small nozzle and pipe a cross on each bun, brush again with more egg, being careful not to lift the cross off.
- Place in a pre-heated oven fan180c/gas 4 and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning the oven down halfway to fan 160c/gas3 as this will prevent them from browning too much on top.
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Do not worry if you do not want to use spelt and rye flours, just make up the difference with the white. Also, if you do not have the sourdough starter you can miss out the first mix, and just add all the flour and bring to a dough and continue with the first proof.
H.C. B brunch roll
Ingredients
- 1 x lightly fried egg.
- 1 x Good quality white pudding.
- Dry cured smoked bacon
- Bunch of your favourite leaves, I like mustard greens for a slight kick.
- Dollop of your ‘go to’ relish, in this instance I have gone with Ruth’s Plum ketchup (I might get the recipe for it one of these days!).
Directions
- Grill bacon to golden brown and crispy, along with a couple of slices of white pudding, place inside your lightly toasted H.C.B, top with your fried egg, chosen leaves and your favourite relish. Enjoy
Of course, if you have not got around to making your own buns, you will have to run with the shop bought ones.
I know this may seem unusual, but when I thought about it, a regular brioche bun is quite similar and I got inspiration from a real classic hot appetizer – Devils on horseback, which was dried fruit usually prune or dates wrapped in bacon and grilled.
The broken oven simple & tasty recipe ideas 
One response to “BREADS, Hot cross buns, not so classic!”
A great post without any doubt.
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