Pastry for Easter: Hot-crossed buns

a Good Friday tradition from Ireland delicious recipe for yeast rolls at Easter

Hot crossed buns are an Irish custom for Good Friday. They owe their name to the cross that adorns them on Good Friday... and they taste best warm from the oven. Not only do they look beautiful, they are also very tasty - with a little butter or jam, they are perfect for a (pre-) Easter brunch. If you fancy baking hot crossed buns on Good Friday (or one of the Easter holidays) this year, read this blog post with the corresponding recipe. They will round off your Easter brunch perfectly.

Ingredients:

275 ml warm milk

75 g butter

1 tsp brown sugar

50 g sugar (or brown sugar)

1 packet of dry yeast or 30 g fresh yeast

2 eggs

450 g white flour

160 g dried fruit (candied oranges, orange peel, lemon, raisins or similar)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger if necessary

1 pinch of salt

"Shortcrust pastry" for the cross decoration: (only a little necessary)

2 parts flour

1 part margarine

water

a little salt

Preparation:

• In a saucepan, heat the milk with the butter until the butter has melted and leave to cool until it is lukewarm.

• Mix the fresh yeast, the warm milk and the teaspoon of brown sugar and leave the mixture to rest for a quarter of an hour. (If you are using dry yeast, you can add the dry yeast directly to the flour instead, see next step...)

• Mix the flour, salt and spices together. Whisk the egg and add to the dry ingredients together with the milk and butter mixture. If the dough is too firm, you can add a little more milk.

• Now knead in the dried fruit and knead the dough well on a floured work surface.

• Cover the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

• Then knead it again for a few minutes and shape it into small rolls. This will make about 12 rolls.

• Leave them to rise on the baking tray again covered with a clean kitchen towel for 30 minutes. In the meantime, you can prepare the shortcrust pastry.

• Mix the flour, margarine, water and salt, knead the dough and roll it out to a thickness of 2-3 mm on a floured work surface.

• Cut it into thin strips.

• Brush the rolls with a milk-sugar glaze and cut them crosswise.

• Now place the shortcrust pastry strips on the crossed cuts.

• Bake the crossed buns in a preheated oven at 200-220 °C for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and then leave them to cool briefly on the rack.

The importance of mindfulness when baking with yeast dough

Yeast dough turns out particularly well if you give it plenty of time and affection :-) The longer you knead it, the looser and tastier the consistency will be later on. Let it rise long enough in between.

Mindfulness means being present in the moment and being aware of every action. Mindfulness can therefore help us to fully immerse ourselves in the baking process. Baking with yeast dough is perfect for a little mindfulness practice and can help us slow down a little in our everyday lives.

Of course, you can prepare the dough with a food processor and let it knead. Or you can consciously take the time to knead it yourself with your hands - feel the texture and how it changes during processing, smell the aromas and get involved in the basically meditative, uniform, powerful movement. Working with dough or plasticine is also a wonderful and enriching experience for children and trains their motor skills and sense of touch.

Small tips on how to make time for baking and stay mindful:

1. Consciously plan time: Consciously block out time in your schedule for baking with yeast dough without rushing and feeling like you have to finish quickly. With children, you can turn it into a fun activity for everyone, perhaps even a Good Friday tradition for your family - baking together in preparation for Easter.

2. Prepare all the ingredients in advance: Make sure all the ingredients are ready so you can focus on the baking process.

3. Eliminate distractions: Create a calm and relaxed environment without distractions so that you can fully dedicate yourself to baking. You might also enjoy listening to relaxing music.

4. Enjoy the moment: Focus on enjoying the process of baking rather than fixating on the end result.

With these simple steps, you can practise mindfulness when baking with yeast dough and experience conscious enjoyment and relaxation.

Hot crossed buns are a delicious and decorative Easter treat and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in Ireland. With this simple DIY recipe, you can easily bake the sweet yeast buns yourself and brighten up your Easter brunch.

If you liked the post and the recipe, please share it, leave me a comment and tell me about your Easter traditions.

Good luck, bon appétit and happy Easter when the time comes...

A hug and see you soon!