Contents:
- Editor's welcome
- Multi-million-pound revamp of Rochdale Town Hall
- New family-run restaurant Amor opens in Bamford
- 10 Years of Rochdale Soup Kitchen
- Pet First Aid
- Chocolate chip hot cross buns »
- Man (and dog) of Rochdale: Wesley Dowd and Finley
- 21st anniversary of Rochdale’s Parent Carers Voice
- Garden of Eden florist celebrates 10 years
- Racing driver from Rochdale set to create ‘super team’ pairing for Club Enduro season
- Gardening tips for Spring
- 30 years of The Dog Shop
- Health and wellbeing during Wood season
- Chicken breast stuffed with butternut squash mousse, potato fondant, carrots and parmesan cream sauce
- Spring in your step? Watch where you are walking
- Hairdressing trend - baroque bob
- Post Office Horizon Scandal
- Pionero Lounge opens in Rochdale
Spring 2024Chocolate chip hot cross buns
by Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes
I love hot cross buns, but my family just don’t do dried fruit. So here we have – tried and tested on my family – a hot cross bun recipe with chocolate chips, which, to be honest, tastes pretty good. I don’t even miss the sultanas, but if you want to substitute the chocolate for sultanas, you can do, and it will make classic hot cross buns.
Only start this recipe in the morning as it takes at least 3 hours of proving time. You don’t need to be watching the buns for 3 hours, but you will be doing a bit of kneading here and a bit of mixing there. It’s best to do on a day when you’ve got the heating on and you’re going to be in for most of the day.
Ingredients
- 500g strong bread flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice (either bought as a mix or make your own, see recipe below)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 7g easy blend yeast (make sure it’s got plenty of shelf life left, old yeast won’t rise)
- 60g golden caster sugar
- 50g melted butter
- 125g chocolate chips (you can substitute for sultanas if you like)
- 50g mixed peel
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 250ml whole milk (warmed)
- Olive oil
Pumpkin spice recipe (mix all these together)
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
For the crosses
- 50g plain flour
- Cold water
For the glaze
- 25g golden caster sugar
- 50ml water
- ½ tsp pumpkin spice
Before you start, prepare a large bowl by greasing it with olive oil then put to one side.
Mix together the flour, salt, caster sugar, pumpkin spice and yeast in a clean bowl.
Warm the milk for 1-1½ minutes in the microwave before melting the butter in the microwave for just 20 seconds or so, then pour the butter into the warm milk and mix.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the warm milk and butter, then pour in the beaten egg. Begin mixing with a large spoon then use your hands to bring it all together into a sticky dough.
Tip the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead, repeatedly stretching the dough and bringing it back on itself. You will be kneading for at least 5 minutes. Make a mental note of the time so that you don’t take a shortcut and finish kneading too early. The aim is to make the dough smooth, elastic and springy.
Once you’ve finished kneading, place the dough in the oiled bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm. The bowl now needs to be placed in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has risen to twice its original size.
When the dough has risen, tip the chocolate chips and mixed peel onto the dough and gently knead it again to knock out the air and mix in the added ingredients. Place the dough back in the oiled bowl and cover again with clingfilm. This now needs another hour in a warm place (not too warm or you will melt the chocolate) to double in size again.
Line 2 baking trays with parchment, ready for the next step. Once the dough has doubled in size again, tip it out on to a lightly floured surface and cut it into 12 pieces. Roll each of these pieces into a ball and place them on the baking trays; two rows of three on each tray with a 2cm gap in between each ball. Cover the dough with greased clingfilm and leave it again for an hour to rise until doubled in size again.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
While the oven is warming up, mix the plain flour and a tablespoon of cold water together. Keep adding water a teaspoon at a time until you’ve made a runny paste. Pour the paste into a piping bag and then snip the end so that you can squeeze a cross over each bun before baking. If you don’t have a piping bag, just use a small plastic bag and snip a corner when you’re ready to add the crosses.
Place the dough balls in the oven for approx. 18-20 minutes until golden brown. While they are in the oven, make the glaze by gently heating the water, sugar and spice in a pan.
Brush the glaze over the baked hot cross buns as soon as they come out of the oven and then leave to cool.
These are best cut in half, spread with butter and eaten on the same day. They also work well toasted but be careful with the chocolate chips if you are toasting them.
Happy baking and Happy Easter x