Bay Hot Cross Buns
Soft buns infused with bay leaves, lightly sweetened and studded with currants; finished with a simple icing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 3 leaves bay leaves, preferably fresh
- ¼ cup light honey
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup currants
- 2 ½ cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 8 cups unbleached white flour (about)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup water (for glaze)
- 1 egg white (for glaze)
- Simple Icing: 1 Tbsp lemon juice; 1 Tbsp water; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Simple Icing (Makes about 1/2 cup of icing)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Scald milk with bay leaves; steep to infuse. Stir in honey and melted butter. Soak currants briefly; drain.
- Proof yeast in warm water. Mix flour and salt; add milk mixture, eggs, yeast, and currants to form a soft dough.
- Knead until smooth and elastic; let rise until doubled. Punch down, roll into a rope, cut and shape into balls.
- Place on buttered sheets; let rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Slash a cross on each bun; brush with beaten egg white. Bake 15–20 minutes until golden. Cool; drizzle with simple icing if desired.
- Scald the milk with 3 of the bay leaves. Remove it from the heat and dissolve the honey in it.
- Soak the currants in 2 cups of the warm water for 15 minutes, then drain and squeeze the excess water from them. Discard the soaking water. Dissolve the yeast in the remaining 1/2 cup warm water.
- Sift 8 cups of flour into a large bowl.
- Beat the eggs lightly and add them, along with the salt and 1/2 cup water, to the milk and honey.
- When the yeast is active, add it to the flour along with the milk mixture, melted butter, and currants. Stir the liquid with a wooden spoon to incorporate about half of the flour.
- Remove the dough to a smooth surface and knead in the rest of the flour. Knead for about 5 minutes after the flour has been incorporated. The dough should be smooth and soft but not sticky. Knead in more flour if necessary.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight, or for up to 24 hours. Or let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
- Punch the dough down and divide it in half.
- Remove the bay leaves as you come across them.
- Roll each portion into a long cylinder about 3 inches in diameter. Cut the cylinders into 1-inch slices and roll each slice into a ball.
- Place the balls on lightly buttered baking sheets. Cover the balls with a tea towel and let them rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 375 º F.
- Slash the top of each bun in a cross-shape with a sharp knife.
- Beat the egg white until frothy and brush each bun lightly with it.
- Bake the buns for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown.
- Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool to room temperature.
- Drizzle them with Simple Icing (recipe below) along the slash marks if desired
