Hot Cross Buns

Recipe for Hot Cross Buns from our Live Cookout - absolutely heavenly and easy to do. Have a go, and share your pictures!

Ingredients

• 450g strong white flour

• 50g Caster sugar

• 1tspn salt

• 2 tspn mixed spice

• ½ tspn freshly grated nutmeg

• 7g easy bake dried yeast

• 50g butter

• 125 g mixed dried fruit and peel

• 200ml milk

• 1 egg – beaten

• For the cross – flour and water

• For the glaze – Runny Honey

• For your fire - charcoal

Let’s Cook

Put the flour, sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg and east into a large mixing bowl and stir them all together to combine. In a saucepan gently melt the butter before adding the milk and heat them both to blood temperature (if too hot just allow to cool a little.)

Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the warm milk/butter mixture and the beaten egg, gradually draw the flour into the liquid to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for a good 10 minutes. )If you have a mixer with a dough hook then you can use this and work the dought for about 5 minutes.)

At this point work in the dried fruit, when evenly combined put the dough into a clean bowl that had been lightly greased, cover with some cling film and leve in a warm place to double in size o leave in the fridge overnight to rise.

After the first rising place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock back, knead lightly and split the dough into 16 egual pieces, shape into the neat balls, place them into two lightly buttered cake tins that will fit inside the dutch oven. Cover with some cling film and leave in a warm place until double in size (about an hour, or again could be left in the fridge overnight).

To make the Cross:

Mix together some flour and water to make a smooth thick paste, place into a small piping bag or small plastic bag and snip off one of the corners (don’t make it too big!). Uncover the buns and pipe a paste cross over each bun.

Cooking in the Fire Pit:

Move the hot coals from the centre to around the outside edge of your fire pit. Place the tin into the Dutch oven with the trivet on the bottom and put the oven into the centre of the fire pit. Put some hot coals on the top of the Dutch oven which will create some top heat and brown the buns nicely. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes depending on how hot the fire is. Check it after 8-10 minutes by removing the coals and carefully lifting the lid. If it is getting too hot, remove it from the fire pit for a few minutes – the residual heat will continue to cook the buns. After checking the buns, put the lid back on and replace fresh hot coals on the lid.

When cooked they should be well risen and golden brown in colour; remove the Dutch oven lid and brush them over with some runny honey to glaze. Serve whilst still warm. Enjoy!