Cinnamon and orange hot cross buns

Ingredients

For the Batter:

7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast

1 tsp light muscovado sugar

100g/4oz white bread flour

200ml/7fl oz hand-hot milk

For the Dough:

300g/10oz white bread flour

1 tsp salt 2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg grated rind of 1 orange

50g/2oz butter, cut into small pieces

50g/2oz light muscovado sugar

175g/6oz mixed dried fruit 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Crosses:

2 tbsp plain flour

For the Glaze:1 orange 50g/2oz caster sugar

Method

1. Make the batter: grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl mix together the yeast, sugar and flour. Stir in the milk and mix to a smooth batter. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 25-30 minutes until the surface is covered with large bubbles.

2. Make the dough: sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the orange rind, add the butter and rub into the flour, then stir in the sugar and dried fruit.

3. Add the dry mix and the beaten egg to the batter, and mix to a soft dough; a large salad serving fork is perfect for this. Tip the dough on to a lightly floured surface; knead for five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky. Knead in more flour if still sticky after five minutes.

4. Divide the dough into nine equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Put on the baking sheet, a little apart, in a three by three formation. Oil the inside of a large polythene bag and put the buns and baking sheet inside it, loosely tied. Leave to rise for 1 ½ hours until the buns have doubled in size and spring back when prodded.

5. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7/fan oven 200C. To make the crosses, blend the flour with two tbspof cold water to make a paste. Put the paste in a small food bag and snip off one corner. Pipe a cross on the top of each bun. 6 Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Make the glaze

prepare the orange rind, then cut into fine strips. Put the rind and sugar in a pan with three tbspof water. Bring to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, then boil rapidly to make a light syrup (1½-2 minutes). Transfer the buns to a rack, brush immediately with the glaze, then leave to cool.

To Freeze

Pack into a large freezer bag and seal tightly, removing as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. What Can Go Wrong?Starting the yeast off with a little of the flour shows the yeast is working and also speeds up the rising process. This recipe has only one rise rather than the usual two - but no lightness is lost as a result.