With Easter around the corner, it's that time of year when bakeries and home bakers are making that family favourite, the deliciously infamous Hot Cross Bun.
When it comes to baking for a crowd, you need to be certain that you are going to achieve perfect results, otherwise there are a lot of wasted ingredients. I’ve put one of my favourite
baking trays to the test! The
Mondo Pro 30cm square pan is a great option if you're looking to bake enough hot cross buns for your whole crew. Perfect for a family gathering, or to take to the school bake sale!
Most people probably look at this pan and wonder why they need it in their kitchen, as it’s quite big. But, it’s incredibly versatile, you could use it for large slab cakes, lots of buns, a large focaccia, or even a tray worth of lamingtons! The solid, commercial grade construction from anodised aluminium means they won’t rust, blister, chip or warp under normal use (this is backed by a 25 year warranty).
I didn’t line this pan to make the buns, instead I greased and floured with butter followed by flour, but you might want to line it if you are doing something more delicate. In which case I recommend using 2 sheets of baking paper. Wet the base of the pan before you put the paper in ever so slightly and it won’t slip around as you add your batter.
I’ve had mixed results before when I’ve tried to bake this many hot cross buns, and I’ve now realised it is entirely dependent on your vessel for baking. You really do need something that will help your buns to bake as evenly as possible, like the Mondo Pro range. It takes some of the guesswork out of cooking 24 buns!
Let’s pause for a second before I get you into the recipe and talk about hot cross buns. They don’t have to have a cross on top- they don’t have to have anything on top! They also can contain whatever you like. There are fruit filled, fruitless, choc-chip, mocha and apple cinnamon ones on the market this year just to name a few.
I’ve stuck to a low fruit, family friendly version for this recipe. If you want to switch them for choc chips, use the same volume. If your family like them fruit filled, you can add more raisins, orange peel or whatever to the recipe (up to about 1 cup more).
Hot Cross Buns for a Crowd
Ingredients
Buns
- 2 tbsps dried yeast
- 4 tbsps sugar (I used raw, use whatever takes your fancy)
- 2 cups body temp water
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 2 cups sultanas
- 8 cups plain flour
- 150 grams butter- softened
- 1 cup milk
Crosses
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 tbsps raw caster sugar
- 8 tbsps water
Glaze
- 2 tsps apricot jam, 2 tsps water
Instructions
- In a jug mix the cup of body temp water, 4 tbsps sugar and the yeast.
- Allow to rest until frothy.
- Combine the cinnamon, mixed spice and flour in a bowl.
- Add the butter and milk to the yeast mixture and pour onto the flour.
- using a dough hook on your mixer (or do it by hand), knead for 1 minute on low. Add the sultanas and knead for 3 minutes on medium.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise.
- Divide the dough into 24 pieces and knead into balls, then pop into a greased and floured Mondo Pro Square tin (30cm by 30cm), just touching each other.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Allow buns to rise 20 minutes more.
- Mix the flour, sugar and water to form a paste. Using a piping bag or a ziploc with the corner trimmed off, pipe each row of lines in one go.
- Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from oven and leave in the tray.
- Warm the apricot jam with the water and use to glaze the tops of the buns.
- Serve with butter. These freeze well.
- Makes 24 buns
How best to serve them? Well, my kids like them for breakfast warmed up with butter, or cold in the
lunchbox. Me? A cup of tea, some peace and quiet, fresh out of the oven…but I might just be dreaming!
To view the entire Mondo Bakeware range click here!
About the Author:
Kylie blogs about kids and family foods at
Kidgredients, she loves cooking family friendly meals that everyone will enjoy and has a passion for making family favourites that are healthy, fun and delicious.
