On Good Friday traditionally we planted Spring bulbs and baked these hot cross buns to have with our dinner in the evening, like a rich vegetable soup.
It was a great event with the children mixing and shaping the buns, and then decorating with the crosses to remember Christ’s death on the Cross.

Ingredients

1 ½ cup milk
2 T honey
50 gram butter
4 ½ cup flour ( mix of  2 ½ cups white and  2 cups wholemeal wheat flour)
1 cup active sourdough starter
2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t mixed spice
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup plain flour
8-10 T water
2 T honey
2 T water

Method

First make sure you have an active Sourdough starter

Put milk in a pot, with honey and butter.
Warm until butter is melted. Just warm not too hot!

The dough:
Put in a bowl all dry ingredients the flour, salt, spices and fruits and mix well.
Make a well in the centre.

Add the milk, butter honey mixture and add the frothy active sourdough starter. Mix until thick dough, then knead on a floured bench.

Leave to rise until doubled in size, overnight.
Then knead again. Divide dough and shape in 16 – 20 buns.
Place buns on a baking tray and leave to rise again until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Make a mixture of flour and water. Snip a corner of a plastic bag and spoon in mixture.
Pipe crosses over the buns.
Put buns in the oven.
Bake the buns at 200 °C for about 20 minutes.

Prepare glaze by dissolving honey with hot water.
Remove from oven and brush buns with glaze.

Active Sourdough:
Feed your sourdough, twice a day with tablespoons, with even amounts of whole meal rye/wheat flour and water, until you have created enough starter for your recipe and enough to put away for next time’s baking!