Hot cross buns at Easter

It's no secret that I love hot cross buns. They easily make it on to my list of heaven foods. Even as a child, I couldn't get enough of them. Although my birthday is not until August, my mother would save the last pack of hot cross buns from Easter for me so I could enjoy them for breakfast on my birthday. Somehow they survived those cold, dark months in the freezer without being eaten before then, something that is highly unlikely to happen in my own freezer these days.

I decided to add making hot cross buns to my Easter baking binge this weekend. I'd never successfully made them before and wanted to try out my breadmaker's dough setting. I say 'successfully' because I did have a go several years ago. My attempt produced buns resembling rocks that refused to rise despite hours in the sun and didn't taste much better. A closer inspection of my ingredients revealed high grade flour past its use by date - a mistake that is easily remedied but one that left me feeling more than a tad nervous about attempting the recipe again.

Yesterday, the weather conditions were perfect and I proudly made hot cross bun dough in my breadmaker, leaving them in the sun to rise for a few hours then baking them in the oven. Oh, they smelled (and tasted) so good! I don't know why I left it so long between my first failed attempt and trying again.

Baker's dozen

We tucked into the first few then brought the rest around to my parents' place for lunch today. I was immensely pleased when Dad asked, "Where did you buy these from?" Woo hoo - they looked just like bought ones!! I then read a story in a Sunday magazine about a baker who bakes 90 kg of hot cross bun dough a day in the weeks leading up to Easter. While I love hot cross buns and baking, a standing order like this would probably put me off both these things for life and that would be a shame.

Have you ever baked your own hot cross buns? How did they turn out?