Whole Wheat Hot Cross Buns with Dried Berries
First off I have to admit I have never had a hot cross bun before, and I am not sure why?! They are bready, and I like bready things; and they also have a lot of flavour with all the spices added, and I love spice! So since it’s Easter, I have been seeing a lot of hot cross bun recipes floating around the web, and as I checked them out, I realized I needed to make them! I changed the regular recipe and made these whole wheat hot cross buns my own by adding in some spicy cardamom and I am using a mix of dried cranberries, blueberries and cherries, instead of raisins. Outcome is quite impressive!
Whole Wheat Hot Cross Buns with Dried Berries
As with most baking recipes, there is a bit of a process to make these whole wheat hot cross buns.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp sugar and the yeast package. Let the mixture sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and spices. Set mixture aside.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest. Add in the yeast mixture and mix well. Pour wet mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until mixed; add in dried fruit.
Transfer to a lightly floured counter top and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 60 minutes. Punch down dough and divide into 16 equal parts. Roll each portion into a small ball. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Cover and let buns rise for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake buns until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
While buns are cooking, make the glaze and icing. For the glaze, mix sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. For the icing, mix icing sugar and yogurt. Set aside until buns are cooled.
Take buns out of oven and brush with sugar glaze. Set aside and let cool. Once completely cooled, add the icing to a re-sealable bag and snip the corner. Pipe cross on the top of each bun.
Whole Wheat Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Buns
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground green cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground clove
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3/4 cup dried fruit cranberries, blueberries, cherries
Glaze
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
Icing
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp Greek yogurt
Instructions
Buns
-
In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp sugar and the yeast package. Let the mixture sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
-
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and spices. Set mixture aside.
-
In another medium bowl, whisk together the milks, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest. Add in the yeast mixture and mix well. Pour wet mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until mixed; add in dried fruit.
-
Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
-
Transfer to a greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 60 minutes. Punch down dough and divide into 16 equal parts. Roll each portion into a small ball. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Cover and let buns rise for about 30 minutes.
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake buns until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Glaze
-
Mix sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium heat, until sugar dissolves.
Icing
-
Mix icing sugar and yogurt. Set aside until buns are cooled.
Finishing
-
Take buns out of oven and brush with sugar glaze. Set aside and let cool. Once completely cooled, add the icing to a re-sealable bag and snip the corner. Pipe cross on the top of each bun.
