Hot Cross Buns
These rich rolls are a traditional at Easter. At least they are in my house. The dough is rich and slightly sweet. The frosting on top adds to their sweetness.
Hot cross buns can be served at breakfast, brunch or even as a dinner roll. I have served them with coffee, after dinner. So I guess they can be a dessert, too. If you have leftover hot cross buns, you can use them to make bread pudding. I do!
Because the dough is rich, they are slow to rise. If they aren’t jumping out of the pan after an hour or so, don’t worry. They do rise quite a lot in the oven.
After they cool a bit- pipe on the icing in the crisscross pattern that gives these rolls their name.
Hot Cross Buns
2/3 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 packages active dry yeast
About 5 cups bread flour
1 ½ c. milk
½ c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. raisins
Icing
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
In bowl combine sugar, salt, yeast and about 1 ½ c. flour. Heat together milk and butter until very warm. Beat milk mixture into to flour mixture and beat 2 minutes with electric mixer. Beat in 1 egg and 1 cup flour and beat 2 more minutes until batter thickens. Stir in raisins and enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Place dough on floured surface and divide into 15 equal pieces. Cover with towel and lest rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile grease a 9×13 inch pan. Form dough into smooth balls and place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat remaining egg. Cut a cross in each bun and brush with the egg. Bake for 25 minutes or until buns are golden. Remove buns to wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Make frosting, place in decorating bag and pipe onto buns. Makes 15.
Easter Bread Wreath
This Easter bread wreath, with eggs baked on top, is a fun bread to make for the holiday. It is a tradition in many families.
I hadn’t made one in a long time, and when I went to find my recipe, I couldn’t locate it. I decided to make a new recipe.
I wanted it to have a lot of flavor- something that would be fun served at a breakfast, brunch or with dinner, but not too sweet. I added spices and raisins, but I could see using other dried fruits.
I left it plain on top – but you could easily add a powdered sugar glaze. No, I did not hard cook the eggs first. They cook while the bread is baking. Saves a step, for sure.
I tested the bread out with friends. Almost half was eaten before dinner, so I am confident to say, that this recipe is a winner. The texture of the bread is really nice and the dough is richly spiced.
I added mace, but if you don’t have any mace, add a little more nutmeg or allspice. Mace is a spice I would encourage you to try sometime. So here is the recipe. Hope you like it as much as we did.
Cinnamon Raisin Easter Wreath Bread
4½ -5 c. flour
1 pkt. yeast
½ c. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
½ t. allspice
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. mace
1 c. warm water
½ c. butter, melted
2 eggs
½ c. raisins
5-6 uncooked eggs, dyed if you like
Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, seasonings and salt in large bowl. Heat together water and butter until warm and add to flour mixture. Beat 2-3 minutes. Beat eggs and reserve 1 tablespoon of the eggs for brushing the top of the bread later. Add remaining eggs and another cup of flour to the bowl. Beat 4 minutes. Add the raisins and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, but still soft. Place in oiled bowl turning to oil top. Note: I actually used my stand mixer, and just left the dough in the bowl to knead, and then covered it to rise. I was able to leave the dough a little sticky this way, using less flour. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. While dough is rising, prepare a pan. Grease a large baking sheet- or use a silicone baking mat. Grease a one cup oven-proof custard cup and place it upside down on the middle of the baking sheet. This will keep a “hole” in the middle of your wreath. If you don’t have a custard cup, you can use a metal one-cup measure instead. Punch dough down and divide in three pieces. Roll each piece into a 20-inch long rope. Braid the ropes together. Wrap the braid around the custard cup on the baking sheet and pinch ends together to keep the braid from coming apart. Cover and allow to rise until doubled (50-60 minutes). Just before baking, combine reserved egg with a little water and brush the wreath with the egg wash. Place 5 or 6 eggs on the top of the braid- being careful not to press down too hard. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Cover bread with foil and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Here is the only tricky part. You have to remove the wreath, but not drop the glass custard cup in the middle. You can let the bread cool a few minutes before moving. I use a silicone baking sheet so I slide the whole thing off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. I use two large spatulas to lift the wreath up and leave the custard cup behind. If it doesn’t come right out, use a knife to loosen. Lift the wreath up enough to slide the custard cup out. Let cool before serving- store leftovers in fridge, because of the eggs on top. Makes 1.
Cinnamon “Bunny” Bread
These slightly sweet bunny breads are a great addition to your Easter table. They can be used for breakfast or brunch. They could also be served with dinner, minus the candies!! The dough itself has plenty of cinnamon flavor and a slightly dense texture.
They are moist enough to eat just the way they are, or spread with butter. My favorite parts are the feet- which are a little crunchy. The recipe makes 6 bunnies. I chose to decorate mine with melted white chocolate and candies, but they are also pretty when left un-decorated. This would be a fun decorating activity for kids, too.
Cinnamon “Bunny” Breads
6-6½ c. flour
¾ c. sugar
2 pkts. Active dry yeast
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
½ c. water
¼ c. butter – half a stick
5 eggs – save one for brushing the breads
White chocolate and tiny candies for decorating
In mixing bowl place 2 cups of the flour with the other dry ingredients. Heat milk, water and butter together until very warm. Butter does have to melt completely. Place milk mixture in bowl with flour mixture and beat for 3 minutes. Add another cup of flour and beat another 2 minutes. Beat in 4 eggs and gradually add enough flour to make a soft dough. Place dough on a floured surface. Knead until smooth. Return dough to bowl and cover, allowing to rise until doubled, about an hour. Grease two large baking sheets, or cover in parchment or use a silicone liner. You will put 3 bunnies on each sheet. Place dough on floured surface. Divide into 6 pieces. Each piece will be a bunny. To form a bunny, take about a third of one of the pieces of dough. Shape into a round and place on a greased baking sheet. This is the body. Use about ¼ cup of the dough to form the head. Flatten the head a little on one edge and tuck the flattened part under the body. Pinch off a tiny piece for the nose and place on the head. Divide the rest of the piece of dough into 6 pieces. Use 4 pieces to form the feet. Shape into balls and tuck one edge under the body, like you did with the head. Use the last two pieces for the ears. Roll each into a tube, shape a little to look like ears, and stick one edge under the head. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces. You’ll end up with 6 bunnies. Cover with plastic wrap, then a towel, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine remaining egg with a tablespoon of water and beat to combine. Remove the plastic wrap from the bunnies. Brush the bunnies with the egg mixture, covering completely. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped lightly. I switched the baking sheets in the oven after 10 minutes, so the bunnies bake evenly. Cool on rack. Once cool, decorate with melted chocolate, piped on to make whiskers. You can also use the melted chocolate to affix candies. Makes 6 bunnies.
ready to bake
