A sweet aromatic bun with a sticky exterior, traditional eaten on Good Friday breakfast, but delicious eaten all year round!
- 500 g strong white flour plus extra for dusting
- 75 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp mixed spice see note on making your own
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 lemon finely grated zest only
- 10 g salt
- 10 g fast-action dried yeast
- 40 g butter
- 300 ml milk
- 1 egg free-range, beaten
- 200 g sultanas or raisins
- 50 g finely chopped mixed peel I made without the mixed peel as I had none
- oil for greasing
- 75 g plain flour
- 5 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp Apricot Jam or Golden Syrup
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Fit an electric mixer with a dough hook and add the flour and sugar into the mixer bowl and combine
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Add the salt and yeast, placing them on opposite sides of the bowl
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Melt the butter
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Warm the milk to very warm but not hot
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Add the butter and half the tepid milk to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl
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Add the egg and knead with the dough hook until you have combined all the ingredients, incorporating the flour from the edges of the bowl as you go
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Gradually add the remaining milk, to form a soft pliable dough (you may not need all of the milk, I didn't use all the milk)
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Once you have a smooth dough turn out onto a lightly floured work-surface and lightly knead for a few minutes, until you have a silky and elastic dough and have formed a smooth ball
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Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size
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Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and add the soaked and drained sultanas, mixed peel and spice on top. Knead in until evenly incorporated. Cover and leave to rise for a further hour
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Fold the dough inwards repeatedly until all the air is knocked out then divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls
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Place them fairly close together, on a baking trays lined with baking paper
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Cover your trays with greased cling film or put into a large clean polythene bag, making sure the bag doesn’t touch the buns
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Leave for 40-60 minutes until the buns have doubled in size again
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Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7
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For the topping, add the flour to a bowl with about 5 tbsp of water. Mix together to make a paste and spoon into an icing bag
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When the buns have risen pipe a cross over each bun
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Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden-brown, turning the baking trays around halfway through if necessary
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Melt the golden syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm, brush them with a little syrup to give them their nice shine, before setting aside to cool on a wire rack
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Serve warm with butter
Make your own Mixed Spice by blending:
- 1 tbs ground allspice
- 1 tbs ground cinnamon
- 1 tbs ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground mace
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground Ginger