INGREDIENTS

Dough:

3 teaspoons yeast, 

1/2 cup (110g) white sugar

1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk, warm 

4 1/4 cups (640g) bread flour (all purpose will work fine) 

2 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tsp All Spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups (210g) raisins (I used dried cranberries)

1 - 2 oranges, zest only (I didn’t have an orange on hand, but I did have several jars of marmalade from a recent canning adventure with my kid – a heaping spoonful was perfect)

50g / 3.5 tbsp  unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg , at room temperature

Crosses: 

You have so many choices here! The wheat flour below makes a very neat (but not very tasty) bake. Want some extra sweetness – use a simple icing. I used homemade marzipan. 

1/2 cup (75g) all purpose flour 

5 tbsp water

Wash:

1 egg yolk

1 tsp heavy cream

Glaze:

Think about the flavors you’ve already used and what might complement that. Apricot jam makes a fantastic glaze. Since I used cranberries and replaced the orange zest with marmalade, I continued with that flavor. 

1 tbsp jam

2 tsp water

Dash of vanilla

METHOD

Place flour, yeast, sugar, all spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and mix together. 

Add butter, milk, egg, and zest. Mix until a smooth elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes on a stand mixer or 10 minutes by hand. Then slowly fold in dried fruit. 

Round the dough into a ball and leave to rest in a covered bowl. Let it rise until it has doubled, between 30-90 minutes. 

Line a baking tray. 

Deflate dough and place on a flour dusted surface. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll and pinch each piece until you have a smooth ball.

Place dough balls on baking sheet. If you like a tear and share look, place them closer. I space them out for neat individual buns. Cover again and let rest for 30-45 minutes; the dough should not quite double. 

During this rest, preheat the oven to 350F. 

Brush egg wash over buns. 

If you are using the wheat paste cross method, mix the flour and water and place the paste in a piping bag. Add your crosses on top of the buns right before baking. 

Bake for about 22 minutes, until the buns are a deep golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the buns are cooling, mix jam, water, and vanilla to form a glaze. Microwaving for 30 seconds may help loosen a thicker preserve. While buns are warm but not hot, brush with the glaze. 

If you are using an icing or marzipan cross, add after buns have cooled.