Best Lemon And Ginger Hot Cross Buns Recipes

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Combine the water and milk in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat until about 100 degrees F (but no more than 110 degrees). Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour over the surface of the liquid. Set aside without stirring, until foamy and rising up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
• Whisk the butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture.
• Whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon to make a thick, shaggy, and slightly sticky dough. Stir in currants. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush the inside of a large bowl with butter. Put dough in bowl, turning to coat lightly with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you have a marker, trace a circle the size of the dough on the plastic, and note the time to help you keep track.)
• To form the rolls: Butter a 9 by 14-inch baking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl and pat into a rectangle about 16 by 8 inches. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, about 2 ounces each, with a pizza wheel or bench scraper. (If you don't have a scale, divide the dough in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Cut each of those four sections into 3 equal-sized rolls.)
• Tuck the edges of the dough under to make round rolls and place them seam-side down in the prepared pan, leaving a little space in between each roll. Cover the pan with buttered plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the rolls rise almost to the rim of the pan and have more than doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg. Bake rolls until golden brown and puffy, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the rolls registers 190 degrees F, about 25 minutes.
• For the glaze: Stir together confectioners' sugar, milk, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Transfer icing to a zip bag or pastry bag, and make a small cut in the corner of the bag. Ice buns in a thick cross shape over the top of the warm buns.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Add milk, butter, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and 2 cups flour. Beat vigorously for two minutes. Add the currants and lemon peel and stir to combine. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 24 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and put into two well-seasoned 9 by 12-inch baking pans. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Just before baking, cut a cross into the top of each bun. Combine the milk and sugar for the glaze and brush lightly over the top of the buns.Bake for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the buns reach 190 degrees. Immediately remove buns from pans and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.In a glass measuring cup with a pouring lip, combine the confectioners' sugar with lemon juice and enough heavy cream to reach the consistency of honey. Use to pour into the cross on the top of each bun. Bread Basket method follows.
• Bread Basket: To shape a basket of bread "eggs" Divide the dough in half. Return 1/2 the dough to the rising bowl and cover with a towel until needed. Divide the other piece of dough into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a 26-inch strand. Twist the strands together. Lightly grease the bottom of an oven-proof bowl or pan with no handles (I have a Pyrex bowl that measures about 8 inches across the top and is about 4 inches deep that works perfectly) and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Loosely coil the twisted strands around the beginning with where the pan and bowl meet. Continue until you get to the center of the bowl bottom. If you have too much dough left, pinch it off to use when making the "eggs." Take the remaining dough and divide it evenly into golf-ball sized pieces. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Cover dough with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Just before baking, lightly brush breads with glaze. Sprinkle the basket with nonpareils if desired.Bake for 25 minutes, basket, and "eggs" for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breads reach 190 degrees. Immediately remove breads from baking sheet and cool on a rack. To serve the bread basket and "eggs": Once the bread has cooled, pour the icing glaze over the eggs --scrape up what runs off and use it again. Let the glaze set, about 15 minutes. Decorate the "eggs" with decorator's icing. Allow time for the icing to set so they can be placed in the bread basket without smudging. Put dyed coconut (in a plastic bag, shake 3 cups shredded coconut with 2 or 3 tablespoons green food coloring until well coated -- spread coconut on waxed paper to dry for about 30 minutes) into the basket. If the top edge of your basket isn't pretty, you can use some of the icing glaze to paint the edge to hold coconut in place to hide the edge. Place the "eggs" in the basket and serve.