Adventures in bakery - hot cross buns

[louiselux]

Using Delia's recipe I made a good start by forgetting to add the yeast, only remembering at this point:





So I was hot and cross by this stage. Unlike the buns. Haha. I left it there and began all over again, making a new batch of dough. Luckily I had lots of everything. While the new dough was rising, the idea of wasting all that other dough really began to get to me, so I decided to make some Easter flatbreads. I just squashed the dough out into flattish discs and cooked it with a little bit of butter in a pan. I broke my favourite spatula - I snapped it! Clearly I don't know my own strength.





They were pretty nice actually, for a flatbread. Eaten during Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I never realised how much make up Johnny Depp wore in that film. Finally, the buns were ready:




I made the crosses just by cutting into the dough, but this method failed almost totally. Visually they are a bit of a mess. Delia's suggestion is to use 'strips of wet pastry'. Right.

Verdict: 'quite nice'. They tasted great and the inner dough was lovely, but I think they were cooked too long or I made them too small, or perhaps the yeast was old because they were a bit tough on the outside, where I wanted them to be more squidgy. I glazed them with water and sugar and that helped a bit.

Not bad for a first go round, but I'm not wowed. It would've been more successful as a loaf, I think.

Comments

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has problems. The shop bought ones are so deliciously squidgy, unlike mine, which are more like rock cakes. Oh feel my disappointment!

I shaped the flatbreads by hand, a bit like making a pizza base.