Gail’s hot cross buns

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast with 1 tbsp whole milk and 1 tsp caster sugar. Make sure the yeast has completely dissolved and leave for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you should notice small bubbles on top of your yeast liquid: that means your yeast is alive.
2. In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the spices. Add the spiced flour to the yeast mixture, then add the 200ml milk, the 70g sugar and 1 egg. Stir the mixture, bringing it together using a wooden spoon or your hands until it forms a rough dough.
   
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes until elastic (see Roz’s tips). Knead in the butter, a cube at a time, for 4-5 minutes until all the butter has been incorporated and it forms a sticky dough (see Roz’s tips).
   
4. Continue kneading the dough (you’ll need a scraper) for 5 minutes more until smooth and shiny. Add the salt and work it into the dough (see Roz’s tips). Add the dried fruit and peel and knead for 3 minutes.
   
5. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave at room temperature for 1½-2 hours until almost doubled in size (see Make Ahead/food team’s tips).
6. Tip out the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and use a dough scraper or knife to divide it into 20 x 50g pieces.
   
7.  Shape the dough pieces into smooth buns by rolling them on the work surface – make a cage with your fingers over the buns and move your hands in small circles, gently shaping them with your palms and fingers.
   
8. Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper (put all the buns on one tray) with a 2cm gap between each one. Cover the tray with a clean tea towel and leave to prove at room temperature for 1 hour until almost doubled in size.
9. When the buns are ready (they should almost be touching each other), make an egg wash by whisking the remaining whole egg and yolk with the remaining ½ tbsp milk. Brush the buns carefully with the egg wash and leave to dry for
   10 minutes, then brush again.
10. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Using a small balloon whisk, combine all the ingredients for the cross topping until you have a smooth paste. Fill the piping bag with the paste and cut a small hole in the end using scissors. (Always cut a smaller hole than you think you’ll need as you can make it bigger, but you can’t make a big hole smaller.) Pipe crosses on top of the buns (pipe horizontally along the whole line of buns, then vertically down the whole line – see Roz’s tips). Put the tray in the oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Bake the buns for 20-22 minutes until golden and cooked.
    
11. Meanwhile, put all the syrup ingredients in a small pan with 35ml cold water over a low heat. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes until syrupy. Remove from the heat and discard the spices (keep the vanilla pod for vanilla sugar). When the buns are ready, take them out of the oven and, while they’re still warm, brush with the hot syrup. Cool slightly, then enjoy.