Brioche Hot Cross Buns

In partnership with Mainland

A quiet moment with a buttered hot cross bun and a cup of tea is the stuff of dreams. So we’ve created these beautiful brioche versions enriched with our Mainland Butter, to give you a moment worth savouring. Eating them fresh out of the oven, slathered with Mainland Buttersoft, is the only way to go.

Prep time – 60 mins

Cook time – 30 mins

Proving time – 120 mins

Makes 12

Dough

1 cup	raisins
¾ cup	Anchor milk
1 teaspoon	sugar
500g	plain flour
100g	sugar
1 tablespoon	mixed spice
½ tablespoon	ground cinnamon
Pinch of	flaky sea salt
3	free-range eggs
160g	unsalted mainland butter, softened

Cross paste

1/3 cup	self raising flour
¼ cup	water

Glaze

3 tablespoon	apricot jam
1 tablespoon	water

Method:

1. Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 15-20 minutes, then drain the excess liquid and set them aside.
2. Heat the milk in a jug until lukewarm but not hot. Add the yeast and teaspoon of sugar, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes so the yeast can activate. (You’ll see it start to froth and bubble.)
3. Place the flour, sugar, mixed spice, and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix until combined.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, pour in the activated yeast/milk mixture and crack in the eggs.
5. Turn the mixer on to the lowest setting until it starts to combine all the ingredients, then increase the speed and mix until all the flour is incorporated. Start adding the softened butter a little at a time, continuing to mix. Do this until all the butter is mixed into the dough.
6. Beat the dough for 10 minutes on medium speed or until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and becomes nice and glossy. You may need to scrape down the mixer bowl once or twice during this process.
7. Add the drained raisins to the dough and mix again for a minute or two until they’re well combined.
8. Tip the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to prove. (The dough will double in size in about 1 -1.5 hours.)
9. Once the dough has doubled, punch it back down, tip it onto a board and knead back into a nice ball of dough.
10. Shape the dough into a log and divide into 12 even portions.*
11. Roll each portion into a ball and place them several centimetres apart (they’re going to double in size again) on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.
12. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to prove for 1 hour, until they have doubled in size.
13. Preheat your oven to 175°C.
14. Remove the plastic wrap from the tray and use a very sharp knife to make crosses on the top of each bun.
15. Mix the self-raising flour and water to a smooth paste. Scrape into a small piping bag (or use a zip-lock bag with a corner cut off), and pipe crosses onto each bun.
16. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden.
17. While the buns bake, whisk the apricot jam and water in a small pot over medium heat until combined. Remove from the heat and brush this glaze over the buns as soon as they come out of the oven.

*The best way to get even portions is to weigh the dough and divide by 12, to give you an idea of how much each portion should weigh.

The Mainland Special Reserve range is available at supermarkets and retailers nationwide. For this and more Mainland recipes to make and share, head to nzherald.co.nz/eatwell