Thermomix Hot Cross Buns

This is recipe for my legendary hot cross buns! I've adapted my classic recipe to suit a Thermomix that makes it a cinch. It uses a tangzhong roux to create a incredibly soft breakfast bread with a longer keeping power so the buns stay fresh for days. One of my most popular bread recipes, you may never buy a hot cross bun again! Dear Reader, this is a pushy recipe.

Thermomix Best Hot Cross Buns

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 1 hour rising time

Baking time: 30 minutes

• 1 cup/150g sultanas or raisins, heated and soaked in 1/2 cup/125ml rum, overnight or at least for 20 minutes
• 3.5 cups (420g) bread or plain all purpose flour plus 1/4cup (34g) extra
• 1 cup/250ml milk
• 1/4 cup/85g honey
• 1 tablespoon instant dried yeast
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
• 2 eggs
• 60g/2ozs butter, cubes, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt

Flour crosses

• 40g/1.41ozs. plain flour
• Around 3 tablespoons water to make paste

For Glaze

• 1/8 cup/30g sugar
• 1/8 cup/30mls boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon/1.5g gelatine powder

Step 1 - Make the tangzhong or water roux. Please don't let this step put you off. It makes a huge difference for the softest of buns. Take 1/6 cup or 20g of the flour from the whole measurement and add to the Thermomix with 1/2 cup/125ml of water. Heat to 65ºC/149ºF on speed 2 for 3 minutes. Add the milk and the honey and mix on speed three until it reaches 45ºC/113ºF.

Step 2 - Place the rest of the flour, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice in the Thermomix bowl. Use the "dough" setting for 3 minutes and knead until elastic. Add the eggs and butter cubes and knead for another 2 minutes. It needs to be elastic and stretchy but not break. You should be able to pull it apart between your fingers and see through it without it breaking.

Step 3 - Grease a large bowl and remove the dough and roll it into a ball making sure that there are no cracks on top of the ball and allow it to rise in a warm place until triple in size.

Step 4 - Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Mix the cross ingredients together to make a pipeable paste and place in a small piping bag cutting a small hole at the end. Punch down the dough and knead in the salt and the drained sultanas (reserve the rum to mix with the butter to create rum butter). Line a baking tray with parchment. Flour your hands and a surface and shape 12-13 hot cross buns. I like them to have soft sides so I bound it with a Bake Snake (silicon sides). Do not give these a long rise, as long as they puff up a bit that is perfect. Pipe crosses on top and then bake for 30 minutes.