Makes: | 12 buns |
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Level: | Advanced |
Diversity Score: | 27 |
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Saffron, Cardamon & Vanilla Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
My top tips - build your starter well incorporating the sugar and make sure you develop the gluten when you mix.
So this is an enriched dough. The gluten really needs to be developed, and you need to manage your starter well. Adding sugar for 3 refreshments will build a slightly more robust starter that copes with sugar. The yeast is then more osmotolerant, meaning they are better able to cope when the sugar's osmotic effect draws the water away from them. So, you still get a good rise from your hot cross buns.
You also need to develop the gluten on a stand mixer, or through a lot of kneading, because of the sugar's hygroscopic properties. If you don’t, the sugar will draw the water away and the gluten won't develop properly. As a result, you will end up with a stodgy bun...and nobody likes a stodgy bun!
Introduction
If you are living with digestive issues, you’ll know how deeply frustrating it can be to see your friends and family enjoying gorgeous hot cross buns and know what you are missing out on. So, these buns have been developed to be easily digested without compromising on flavour. However, in terms of digestibility, if you do have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), I’d recommend you leave out the mixed dried fruit. There is still plenty of fruity flavour from the candied fruit and orange zest. If you do want to add dried fruit, soak it for an hour or two in tea, drain it very well and add it to the dough at the last stage of mixing, because the extra sugar increases the rate of fermentation.
The other absolute joy of making a sourdough hot cross bun is that the texture and flavour are second to none. The long slow fermentation and the effect of the lactic acid bacteria on the texture of the dough makes these buns far more delicious than anything you can buy in a supermarket. And of course, you’ve got the added nutritional benefits - increased bioavailability of vitamins, minerals and polyphenols, and an increase in resistant starch levels during the long slow fermentation. These hot cross buns are more satiating and will keep your blood sugar much more stable than a supermarket hot cross bun. Plus, they don’t have any emulsifiers, preservatives or palm oil in them. I really don’t like to see palm oil in hot cross buns or any other product. It’s distressing when you really understand the impact of deforestation on the environment, climate change and the orangutans…something I care deeply about.
Please check the Tutorials bake schedule below - this recipe spans four days from first refreshment to bake.
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Tea towel or wax cloth
- Dough scraper
- Two baking trays 38cm x 26cm
- Cling wrap or large polythene bags
- Small mixing bowl
- Icing piping bag
- Pastry brush or small paint brush
Tin Size
- Baking tray (26 x 37cm, 3cm deep) OR 9 x 13 x 1 inch sheet pan (USA)
Suggested Starter
Sweet
Hydration
60%
DDT
26°C (79°F)
To Ferment Your Dough
- 75g wholegrain flour or Botanical Blend no. 2
- (Botanical Blend No.2)
- 12-14 strands saffron
- 90g water at 34C
- 35g triple refreshed sourdough starter
For The Dough
- 500g Botanical Blend No. 1 or 400g white bread flour & 100g wholegrain flour
- 300g tea at about 27C
- 200g leaven
- 1 free-range organic egg
- 90g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 10g salt
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 100g coconut sugar (caster or granulated sugar will be fine if that’s what you have in the cupboard)
- 50g mixed candied peel, finely chopped
- 200g mixed dried fruit (I used blueberries, sultanas and cranberries), soaked and well drained (optional)
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
- 15-18 strands of saffron
- FOR THE CROSSES:
- 75g Botanical Blend No. 2 or Wholemeal flour
- 80g water
- 10g recently refreshed starter
- TO GLAZE:
- 1 free-range organic egg, beaten with a tiny pinch of salt to glaze
- 2 tablespoons raw unpasteurised honey
Baking Time
15-20 minutes
Bake At
220C (200C fan oven)/425F/Gas mark 7
Tutorials
Step | Timings |
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Refresh starter (first build - add a teaspoon of sugar) | Day 1 8pm |
Refresh starter (second build - add a teaspoon of sugar) | Day 2 8am |
Refresh starter (third build - add a teaspoon of sugar) | Day 2 8pm |
Mix leaven | Day 3 8am |
Soak dried fruit (if using) | 8am |
Mix dough | 11am |
Bulk for 5 hours at 26C | Midday |
Put in fridge at 5C overnight | 5pm |
Take out of fridge. Leave on side for 1 hour to come to room temperature | Day 4 8am |
Mix paste for crosses | 8.05am |
Scale and shape | 9am |
Prove at 26C | 9.30am |
Bake | 3/4pm |
Guidance, tips & techniques
Mix
Put the flour, tea and leaven into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes. When the dough is formed add the egg and mix again, then work in the butter. Mix in the salt and orange zest. Once the dough has come together (it’s only 60% hydrated so it will be quite a stiff dough), increase the speed for 4-5 minutes to develop the gluten. It’s important to develop the gluten before the sugar is added. Use the windowpane test to check if the dough is ready – put a little olive oil on your hands, take a walnut-sized piece of dough and gently stretch it between your fingers. It should feel soft and silky and should stretch until you can see light through it without tearing. If you can’t stretch it without tearing, mix for a couple of minutes more and test again. You really need to get that extensible, stretchy dough before you add the sugar. Work the sugar in gradually, then mix in the candied peel, mixed dried fruit (if using) and spices.
Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a wax cloth or clean damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for about 5 hours – in the oven with the light on is good, or on the kitchen side. You can give the dough a very gentle half-fold after about 2 hours. After the 5 hours, move the bowl to the fridge and leave to ferment in the fridge overnight.
The next morning take the dough out of the fridge and let it come up to about 16C. This helps make the dough more pliable so makes shaping easier. Mix the cross paste together, spoon this into an icing bag and leave on the kitchen table or side ready to pipe later.
Scale & Shape
When you are ready to shape, lightly grease two baking trays. Divide the dough into equal 12 pieces. Then very lightly dust your hands with flour and take one of the dough pieces and shape it on the worksurface. Your hand should move clockwise and use the worksurface to create resistance. The dough moves in the opposite direction to your hand…there’s a knack to it which comes with practice. Press the heel of your hand onto the table and use your fingers to move the dough and create a ball, while taking care not to squash the dough. Repeat this process with each piece of dough and transfer the shaped balls onto the prepared trays, spacing them to allow enough space to rise. Cover with cling wrap or a lightly greased polythene bag and leave the buns in a warm environment until they double in size.
Bake
Preheat oven to 220oC (200oC fan oven)/425F/Gas mark 7.
Once the dough balls have doubled in size, remove the cover and pipe a cross using the paste over the top of each one. Gently brush the top of the buns with the egg glaze. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the buns are a pale golden brown. Check them a few minutes before they finish baking, just in case they are cooking unevenly. When baked, remove them from the oven and wait a few minutes until they cool a little. Brush the honey over the tops of the buns while they’re still warm, then set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
You can now go back to refreshing your starter without sugar.
![Hot Cross bun Dough on table;e](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/sourdough-hot-croosbuns-dough_-330x496.jpg)
![hot cross buns prooving on a table](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/sourdough-hcb-330x496.jpg)
![Buttered hot cross bun](https://thesourdoughschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/sourdough-hotcross-330x496.jpg)