Candied Orange Peel Hot Cross Buns – Better Food

Better Food head chef Tristan has shared his own bespoke hot cross bun recipe with the store’s followers ahead of Easter weekend. The retailer calls the candied orange peel creations ‘a must try’.

Ingredients (for ten hot cross buns)

  • 600g bread flour

  • 90g sugar

  • 5 tsp mixed spice

  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 orange, zested

  • 36g fresh yeast

  • 48g butter 

  • 360ml whole milk

  • 2 eggs

  • 60g candied mixed peel

  • 180g sultanas

  • 75g plain flour

  • 100ml water

  • 100ml freshly squeezed orange juice

  • 50ml water 

  • 150g cane sugar

“If you've had these in our cafe, then we don't need to tell you how good they are!”

Better Food, Bristol

Method

1. Combine the bread flour, 90g of cane sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon and orange zest in a mixing bowl. Add two eggs to the bowl and mix for two minutes.

2. Melt the butter to room temp and heat the milk to room temp separately. Activate the fresh yeast in the warm milk.

3. Mix the butter into the dry mix until incorporated (two minutes).

4. Gradually add the milk to the bowl while mixing (this process will take around 30 minutes, adding milk to the bowl six or seven times until it's all mixed in – this will stop the mixture from clumping and give you a smooth dough mixture).

5. Leave the mix to prove until it has doubled in size.

6. Knock back the dough and add your sultanas and candied mixed peel. Let the dough prove again until it has doubled in size.

7. Make the glaze at this point so you can let it cool to room temperature. Add 100ml of orange juice, 150g of cane sugar and 50ml of water to a pan. Heat and mix together. Reduce the mix by 20% and set aside.

8. When the dough has proved, split it into dough balls of around 125g. Let them prove again until they have doubled in size.

9. Preheat your oven to 185 degrees Celsius and create the cross-flour mix by adding plain flour and water to a mixing bowl and whisking until smooth. Place the mixture into a piping bag.

10. Once the dough balls have proved, place them on a baking tray. Pipe the flour mix onto each dough ball in a cross shape.

11. Bake for 12 minutes. Apply your glaze to the hot cross buns and let them cool.

12. Enjoy with a generous serving of butter.

By Tristan, chef, Better Food

Food, RecipesRosie GreenawayBetter Food, hot cross buns, Easter, baking