Hot Cross Buns

All those fingers and toes crossed did not really help with the house-hunting. Our friend, who kindly viewed the property for us, stated that the flat was OK but it was a converted housing commission flat and was in a pretty dodgy area. So I guess I'll be on Globrix and RightMove again tonight, and calling London. While waiting for our friend to Skype us with the above info, I decided to make some hot cross buns, since Easter is around the corner.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

2 tsp/7 g dry yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
300g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
30g butter
1 egg yolk
60g dried raisins (can substitute with choc chips/mixed peel)
1 tbsp warm apricot jam

Flour paste
2 tbsp plain flour
2tbsp water
1 tsp sugar

Combine yeast, sugar and milk in a small bowl. Whisk until yeast is dissolved. Cover bowl, stand in warm place for 10mins until frothy.
Sift flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Rub in butter. Stir in yeast mixture, egg yolk, water and fruit. Mix well and knead for 5 mins until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, cover and keep in warm place for 1 hr until doubled in size.
Knock the dough, divide into 9 rounds. Place buns into a greased pan (about 1-2cm apart), stand in a warm place for 20 mins until dough has risen and is touching  on the sides.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Make flour paste by mixing the flour water and sugar. Pipe crosses on the buns.
Bake in oven for 10 mins, Reduce oven temp to 180 degrees, bake for another 10 mins.
Remove from pan and brush with warm jam.

Hints:
Do not over heat your milk, otherwise the yeast will not activate. It should be warm enough, that you can still touch it without scalding. If the milk is too cold, it will also not activate. If your mixture does not become frothy, the yeast may be dead because it is too old.
When keeping dough in a warm place to rise, I cover the bowl with a tea towel. My warm place is usually a preheated oven to 50 degrees. Switch off the oven for 10mins before using it to proof your dough.
Also, you can also double the recipe, which is recommendable actually, as half were eaten once it came out of the oven!