Homemade Hot Cross Bun

When it comes to food at Easter, one of the first things I think of is Hot Cross Buns.  But not the ones you can buy in the store, for me, only homemade ones will do!  

When you grow having something homemade your entire childhood, it's just gotta stay that way!  Thankfully, not only did my mother teach me to enjoy and appreciate homemade baked goods, she also taught me to bake them!

So this morning, Liam and I hit the kitchen together with my Mom's recipe to make Hot Cross Buns.  As always, he was eager to help bake but rather disappointed that we would not be putting smarties in the hot cross buns!  (I guess smartie cookies are on next weekend's baking agenda!)

Come on Mom, Let's get baking!

Here is the recipe, complete with instructions and photos!

Hot Cross Buns 

1 cup warm water

2 tsps sugar

2 tbsp yeast

2 cup milk

1/2 cup margarine

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs, beaten

10 cups flour

1 1/2 cups currants (I use raisins because I like them better.)

Mix dissolve 2 tsp of sugar in the warm water.  Sprinkle in yeast.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  (Note: do this in a bowl where it has space to rise, I use a 2 cup glass measuring cup.)

Melt margarine.  In a large bowl, mix milk, margarine, 2/3 cup sugar, salt and cinnamon.  After yeast mixture has sat for 10 minutes, stir and add to milk mixture.  Add eggs, beat well. 

Stir in currants and 3 cups of flour.  Add remaining flour 2 or 3 cups at a time, stirring to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, place in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size, usually about an hour.

Punch dough down.  Divide into 36 even pieces form into smooth balls.  Cut cross on top with a sharp knife.  (I usually make mine a little smaller, so that I get 48 buns.)

Allow to rise, again, about an hour.

Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes.

Glaze with sugar water.  Ice crosses when cool.

Watching the yeast rise was interesting and provoked a lot of "whys?" but for the most part, Liam was too excited and eager to do stuff that he didn't care about the answers!  

Stirring and tasting are the best parts of the job!

Adding the flour in small amounts (2-3 cups at a time) makes it much easier to mix.

Reading for kneading!

"You really want me to use my hands?  Are you sure?"

Kneaded and ready to rise.

Risen!

Every little person's favorite part . . . punching down the dough!

Shaping the buns.

Ready to rise again!

Ready to bake!

Baked and cooling!

Finished and waiting to eaten!

Easter Weekend

A four day weekend . . . 

Beautiful weather . . . 

Two family dinners . . . 

A to do list a mile long . . . 

The first family gathering without Grandpa . . .

Time to relax . . . 

Quality time with Henry and Liam . . . 

April 5th, should have been Grandpa's 77th birthday . . . 

Yard work . . . 

Baking cinnamon buns . . . 

These were the thoughts going through my head as we approached this Easter weekend.  I didn't know if I would get any time to rest and relax because we had so much stuff that we wanted to get done.  I was looking forward to getting some yard work done and spending some time outside in the unseasonably warm weather that was predicted for the weekend, but at the same time I just wanted to veg in my jammies for four days!  In the end, it was the to do list that won out.  But I must say that I am very pleased with everything we got accomplished.  

We had dinner at Henry's aunt and uncle's place on Saturday, something that we don't do often enough, as they only live five minutes away and they hadn't seen Liam in a very long time.  It was nice to visit, drink wine and have dinner cooked by someone else!  And Liam was excited with the presents he got . . . a couple of cute summer outfits from Grandma and his Aunties, he didn't care much about the clothes, however, the fire truck Easter basket was a hit!  And he loved the sand toys that he got from Uncle Richard and Aunt Diane . . . now he just needs a sand box!  That will be a fun project for Daddy!

Sunday, we made the trip to visit my family.  As always, everyone was thrilled to see Liam.  And he was  his usual happy, social self, visiting with everyone!  And of course, he was spoiled with Easter presents from Grandma L and Grandpa J (my parents) . . . a tiger flash light that growls when it is turned on, a stuffed sheep and a book.  And a giant stuffed bunny from Nana.  And a belated birthday present from Aunty Teanna, Uncle Aaron and Drake and Denver.   Easter with my family was a little sad for me, as it was the first holiday since we lost my Grandpa.  It was nice to see everyone, but I couldn't help but feel like something was missing and that these events will never quite be the same.  But I know that we will move on and continue to have many fun filled family gatherings.  

Today we worked hard to get a lot of stuff done in the yard and we had some fun play time with Liam outside.  All in all, it was a fun and productive weekend.  However, I think it will be to bed early for me tonight because back to work after a four day weekend is never easy!!