The best part about any holiday or celebration is the food, and more specifically, the baked goods; cakes and breads feels so much more special if you only consume them once a year. My favorite Easter bake is hot cross buns, though I do also love Simnel cake, but I have a particularly weak spot for sweet enriched breads. I generally bake at least one batch of hot cross buns around Easter time every year; I decided to do something a little different this year though and baked a hot cross bun loaf using my hokkaido milk bread recipe as the base.
Hokkaido milk bread is my absolute favorite bread, it is not the easiest bread to make by hand as the dough is very sticky and takes a long time to knead, but it is so worth the effort (and if you own a stand mixer then it is barely any effort at all). It is super soft and slightly sweet and it stays soft for several days, unlike most breads; though if you can actually make it last that long then you posses far more willpower than I! It works perfectly as a hot cross bun loaf, all you need to do is add some mixed spice, orange zest, candied peel and raisins to the basic milk bread recipe then pipe some crosses on before baking and glaze with apricot jam to give it a lovely shine.
The reason hokkaido milk bread is so soft is because it is made using a method called “tangzhong” which is a roux of water and flour which is added to the dough; I don’t understand exactly why it works (if anyone can explain please do!) but it does, so I’m not going to query it. All I know is that it makes this hot cross bun loaf so good that I was kicking myself for not doubling the recipe and making two loaves; I highly recommend that you don’t make the same mistake as me – make two because one loaf will not last long enough!
Hokkaido Milk Bread Hot Cross Bun Loaf
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 g (3 level tbsp) strong white bread flour
- 110 ml (1/3 + 1/8 cup) water
Dough
- 350 g (scant 3 cups) strong white bread flour
- 7 g (2 tsp) fast action yeast
- 60 g (scant 1/3 cup) caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- all of the tangzhong
- 2 tbsp milk powder
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat milk
- 1 large egg
- 50 g (scant 1/4 cup) softened butter
- 90 g (3.2 oz) candied mixed peel
- 110 g (4 oz) raisins
Crosses
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- about 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp clear apricot jam to glaze
Instructions
To make the tangzhong
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Whisk together the flour and water in a small saucepan until smooth. Place over a medium/low heat and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to a paste/pudding-like consistency (think wallpaper paste...). Scrape it into a small bowl, cover with clingfilm directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and leave to cool to room temperature.
To make the dough
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Place the flour in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook) and add the yeast to one side, the salt, sugar, mixed spice and orange zest to the other (if the salt is added on top of the yeast it can kill it), stir to combine.
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Whisk together the cooled tangzhong, milk powder, egg and milk until smooth and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until it forms a soft, shaggy dough. If you are kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead for 5-10 minutes until it starts to feel smooth and a little less sticky (it will still be very sticky), don't be tempted to add any extra flour, the dough is meant to be sticky! The best way to knead a wet dough by hand is to stretch it up away from the worktop (it will stick), then slap it back down, make sure that you pull from a different section each time and keep a dough scraper handy. If you are using a stand mixer, mix for 5 minutes or so until the dough is smooth.
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Add the butter and mix until it is fully incorporated, continue to knead until the dough is very elastic and begins to come away from the worktop (or sides of the stand mixer bowl) cleanly. It should pass the windowpane test - stretch the dough with your hands, you should be able to stretch it to a very thin, almost transparent membrane without it tearing. This can take up to 20 minutes of kneading, especially by hand.
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Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm, leave to rise for 1-2 hours until well doubled in size. Alternatively, place it in the fridge to rise overnight. If you refrigerate it, the following day let it come up to room temperature for about half an hour before continuing.
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Line an 8.5x4.5in (or thereabouts) loaf tin with baking parchment. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and fold it in on itself a couple of times then knead in the candied peel and raisins until evenly distributed.
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide it in to six equal pieces and roll each one into a ball.
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Roll each ball out into an oval, fold one third of the oval over the middle (from the side, not the top), then the other third over the top to form a long, narrow packet. Roll over the seam to flatten it, then roll it up from one end to make a fat sausage. Repeat with the other balls of dough then arrange them in the loaf tin in two rows of three, seam side down. (You can skip this step and simply shape the dough into balls and arrange them in the tin; rolling the dough like this just gives the loaf pretty swirly sides).
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Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until at least doubled in size, this can take 1-2 hours (mine took nearly 2). If you press the dough gently with a finger the indentation should spring back slowly but remain visible. If it springs back quickly it needs to prove for a little longer. Preheat the oven while the dough is rising to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
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To make the crosses, place the flour in a small bowl and gradually stir in the milk until you have a thick, but pourable paste. Transfer the paste to a small disposable piping bag and snip off the tip, pipe a cross on the top of each bun.
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Bake the loaf on the lower middle shelf of the oven for 40-50 minutes until well risen and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, the internal temperature should reach at least 94C/200F on a probe thermometer. Cover the bread with foil partway through baking to stop it from becoming too dark.
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Gently heat the apricot jam until runny, transfer the cooked loaf to a wire rack and brush generously all over with the jam, leave to cool completely before slicing.
I am sharing this with Saucy Saturdays hosted by The Flavour Bender, Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef and Mid-Life Croissant, Bake Of The Week hosted by Casa Costello and Maison Cupcake, Fiesta Friday hosted by The Not So Creative Cook and Eating Well Diary , Foodie FriDIY, Foodie Friends Friday and Friday Features
:-O…. I am slightly lost for words!! If that tastes anything like as pillowy soft and scrumptious (I can’t believe it, you have actually got me to write ‘scrumptious’) as it looks you are on to a winner!! xx
It definitely tastes as good as it looks! I only wish I had made more, one loaf was not enough! x
Beautiful! Looks lovely and soft!
Thanks Sarah 🙂 It is like a pillow!
This looks so soft and delicious Hannah. I really need to have a go at making this because looking at the pictures makes me angry that I don’t have any of this!
Haha! Thanks Angela 🙂 I’m angry that I didn’t have the foresight to make two loaves…one was not enough! x
I love the idea of hot cross buns but in a loaf form – much easier to eat the right amount too! I often give my children a whole hot cross bun but they only eat half so with something like this I could just give 1 slice and it would be perfect.
Thanks Corina 🙂 Yes I think I prefer them in loaf form, it is so much easier to slice and toast!
That looks so gorgeous.
Thank you 🙂
This is amazing
Oh my goodness! You are seriously clever. These look utterly incredible. I really want to try making these gluten and dairy free. I will let you know if I succeed…but I know they won’t look as good as this. WOW.
Ha ha! Thank you 🙂 You will probably struggle to get the bread as soft and pillowy without gluten or dairy but I’m sure it will still taste good!
Such a delicious take on the classic hot cross buns. The hokkaido flavor makes more delicious. Yum! I am always happy to see you here, Hanah. 🙂 Happy FF! x
Thanks Jhuls, it is totally addictive and I was kicking myself that I didn’t make two loaves…
What a beautiful loaf of bread! I’ve never heard of hokkaido milk but sure love the results!
Thanks Julie 🙂 Hokkaido milk bread is the best bread in the world! (I think so anyway)
Amazing loaf!! I’ve seen (and made) such bread, but never seen one as beautiful as yours. And most important – the texture looks fantastic – soft but rich
Thanks Winnie 🙂 the texture is amazing, the whole loaf disappeared within two days with just two of us eating it, it is just so addictive!
Wow! This looks so fabulous – I love the idea of making hot cross buns into a loaf! Eb x
Thank you! I like them as a loaf, it is easier to cut slices to toast 🙂
Thanks for sharing. I’ve made this a couple of times, but every time my bread doesn’t seem to be as fluffy/soft as yours. It also isn’t as shred-able if you know what I mean. I use a kitchenaid mixer to mix the dough, and I mix it for at least 15 min each time using dough hook and 3 speed. The dough is soft and smooth when it’s done. I also let it raise double both times. But somehow the final product is not very soft. Not sure what I did wrong. Any tips? Thanks!
Hi Crystal, sorry to hear you are having problems with this, I honestly have no idea what could be going wrong…it is mainly the tangzhong that provides softness, are you cooking it until it is the consistency of wallpaper paste?
brilliant points. oh and also the page loaded Extremely quickly which is very much appreciated considering
the fact that we’re over in malaysia where the internet
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Hi, what is the ingredients of the mixed spice?
Hi Shek, sorry for the slow reply, your comment somehow made it into my spam folder. The ingredients of mixed spice vary a bit but it usually contains cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, coriander, cloves and ginger; it is similar to American pumpkin pie spice if you are able to get hold of that?
Hi.. thanks for your reply. I use cinnamon powder since I don’t have it that time. Love this bread so much.. I have just bought mixed spice. Will certainly bake again using this recipe.
I’m impressed. I made them today and they came out so light and fluffy, the best hot cross buns I’ve ever made. I swapped the orange zest with mandarin zest and because I hate candied peel, I substituted with cranberries – yummy!
I made a triple batch today. Really beautiful, soft bread. I would not do the crosses next time as they baked up crunchy and made the bread hard to slice. Also the jam made the bread sticky so store in Tupperware and not a plastic bag. Thank you for the great recipe. Will definitely make again. I posted a pic on instagram and tagged you