If there’s one thing I’ve come to discover: everyone loves a hot cross bun. Often its a guilty pleasure as so many of them out there are laden with crap, so what better incentive to come up with a recipe that uses all organic, wholesome ingredients and still tastes incredible! Best eaten fresh out of the oven. Equally delicious toasted and smothered in organic salted butter. And who says they’re just for Easter…? Make these anytime of the year for a scrummy, spiced fruit bun.

Ingredients
    •    2½ cups Organic Premium Bakers Flour
    •    2 cups Organic Whole Spelt Flour
    •    2 x 7g dried yeast
    •    ¼ cup Organic Coconut Sugar 
    •    1½ tsp mixed spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice)
    •    pinch Macrobiotic Sea Salt
    •    1½ cup Organic Currants
    •    40g butter
    •    300ml milk
    •    2 eggs lightly beaten
    •    4 tbsp water (for paste)
    •    ⅓ cup water (for glaze)
    •    1 tbsp sugar-free jam

Method
Combine 2 cups of each of the flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt (don’t let salt touch the yeast directly as it deactivates it) and currants in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the milk. Heat for 1 minute, or until lukewarm. Add warm milk mixture and eggs to currant mixture.

Use a flat bladed knife to mix the dough until it almost comes together, then using clean hands, finish mixing to a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.
Place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap (you can cover in a tea towel but keep in mind that if the dough grows beyond the top of the bowl while it proves, it will stick to the tea towel). Set aside in a warm, draught free place for 1 – 1 ½ hours, or until dough doubles in size.
Line a large baking tray with a silicone sheet or a non-stick baking paper. Punch dough down to its original size. Knead for 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 24 even portions and shape each portion into a ball.

Place balls onto the lined tray, about 1cm apart. Set aside in a warm, draught free place for 30 minutes, or until buns double in size. Preheat fan-forced oven to 170°C.

To make the flour paste, mix ½ cup of bakers flour and 4 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if the paste is too thick. Spoon into a small snap-lock bag and snip off one corner to create a piping bag. Pipe flour paste over the tops of buns to form crosses.

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until buns are cooked through.
To make the glaze, place water and jam into a small saucepan over low heat and stir until jam dissolves. Bring to the boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat. Immediately brush glaze
over warm hot cross buns.

Voila! Serve warm with lashings of organic butter...