Hot Cross Buns

I could eat hot cross buns all year round - I love them hot out of the oven... They never last long at our house! I make spelt hot cross buns, and use rice-almond milk and Rapadura, and they turn out just as good if not better than the usual version. This recipe is also delicious as fruit bread - just cook the dough in a loaf tin instead of making rolls. (Good for when you're in a hurry!) Sometimes we make chocolate chip hot cross buns instead of the usual ones - see variation below. Enjoy, and Happy Easter! :)


[Note: Grind up your grain first if you want to use some wholemeal flour in your buns.]

1. Whizz on speed 9 in Thermomix until finely ground:
- zest of 1 orange, no white bits (or you can use glazed peel)
- 60g Rapadura


2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on speed 6 for 6 seconds:
- 250ml warm rice/almond milk
- 70g soft butter or ghee or oil (grapeseed, light olive, macadamia)
- 550g spelt flour (I use 100g w/meal, 450g white)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 heaped tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon & nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves

3. Knead on interval speed for 2 mins, adding dried fruit towards the end:
- 100g sultanas
- 70g currants or dried cranberries
(mix a little longer if needed to mix in fruit)

4. Wrap dough in silicon bread mat and place in cold oven with a tray of boiling water underneath. Leave to rise for 20 minutes.

5. Punch down and shape into small rolls. Place close together on lined baking tray, cover, and leave to rise for 10-15 mins.

6. Pipe with crosses made from:
- 80g white spelt flour
- 1 tsp light olive oil
- pinch salt
- 100g water

7. Place rolls in cold oven, again with a pan of boiling water underneath. Turn oven on to 220 degrees (C) and bake for 15-20 mins or until golden. Brush with hot syrup while still warm.

8. Syrup: heat in Thermomix on 100 degrees for 2 minutes, speed 2:
- 2 Tbspns Rapadura
- 2 Tbspns water

Variation: Instead of dried fruit, add dark chocolate chips - or a mixture of choc chips and sultanas - yum!

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns! mmmmmm...