Home Made Buns For Easter

~ beetleypete

Easter is a time for festive food. And in England, it is the time for Hot Cross Buns.

Yesterday, Julie spent some time making her own, a batch of 12 buns. These soft buns have a spicy flavour, and are stuffed with plump sultanas. The cross has its religious significance too of course.

After a lot of strugglng with wet, sticky dough, and a considerable time proving the mixture in a warm place, in the oven they went.

After cooling, they were glazed with a mixture or water and apricot jam to give them a shine. Then we ate some spread inside with real unsalted butter.

Julie dropped some off locally to a friend, and will take more to one of her daughters this evening.

I am pleased to report that there were light, fluffy, fruity, and delicious!

88 thoughts on “Home Made Buns For Easter”

    1. I don’t really need it, unless you want me to send you some Peek Frean’s Shortcake biscuits in the post.
      The buns will be eaten by Monday! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  2. Making bread and buns requires a special talent. Well done, Julie. My mum who could manage almost anything never got on with bread. I suspect it was because she was inclined to impatience!

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  3. Pingback: Seasonal Buns | beetleypete

    1. Thanks, Pam. In England ‘Rolls’ are just bread. Although these buns are made in a similar way, they have cinnamon and nutmeg in them, and are full of sultanas too. They are for sale everywhere, but Julie’s home-made ones were special indeed.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  20. I seem to remember this rhyme from childhood:

    ‘Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!’

    Now I’ve seen them, and they look delicious, just like they’d melt in your mouth!

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    1. That was the ‘Street Cry’ of the wandering bun seller in Victorian days. He would also ring a bell to announce his wares. They are soft and spicy, and very tasty! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  26. They look great, Pete! I’ve only started cooking with dough the last year or so, and the sticky section is the one I enjoy least! I’ve never tried buns, of any description, but I’ve been making my own naan bread for a while now: I have another bowl of dough proving right now 😀 Some time soon I might try pizza dough, even though it’s not something I eat at home really. Our local Easter egg hunt, organised by my neighbour [and landlord], went very well, and several families in the village got involved, which was good. Cheers, Jon.

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    1. The kids in Beetley were out early searching for eggs. On the dog walk I noticed someone had left some framed prints out too, presumably for the adults. But nobody took them. 🙂
      I don’t know anything about dough. Home baking is not my thing at all.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  32. Looking good! I used to put a pastry cross on mine. Julie ought to have a go at baking bread now, that’s even easier! I only use dried yeast (haven’t seen fresh yeast on sale since leaving Donny) and it works just as well. I decided to skip the buns this year, but make a Stollen instead. Basically bread with fruit and marzipan – all leftover from making the Christmas cake!

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    1. I like Stollen at Christmas. I buy the smaller slices, as they don’t have too much marzipan in them. She did add pastry crosses, but for some reason they went a bit ‘flat’ on top. Still tasty though!
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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      1. I think the pastry crosses can go flat. Doesn’t affect the taste though. Yes, stollen has a lot of calories, though I will reduce the amount of sugar, so these will be sliced and put in the freezer – to be eaten a little at a time!

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    1. Thanks, Janet. She doesn’t make bread as a rule, but she wanted to try her hand at these buns. I will tell her.
      (She tells me she used ‘Instant dry yeast’, just added to the mix.)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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