Making the most of Easter with children in mind

When my now adult children were younger, the weekend of Easter was a time when we could create those traditions that will always be looked forward to with anticipation.

We were never a religious family in any conventional sense but I nevertheless incorporated the Christian festivals into our lives. For our family they were and still are an opportunity for creativity, for celebrating the seasons, for learning about modern and ancient cultures and most importantly for creating our own family traditions.

Here in the southern hemisphere, Easter falls in the middle of autumn, which is a bit wonky when you are supposed to be celebrating re-birth and new-life which is commercially promoted with eggs, little chicks and baby rabbits. Being a family of dedicated foodies, baking was what we concentrated on and still my kids ask me, even if they can’t be here to eat any, are you making hot cross buns this year Until my hands can’t do the kneading any more, I most probably always will because my kids like to know that yes I am making hot cross buns and all is well in the world because some things never change.

We had chocolate easter egg hunts, we decorated eggs and we dyed eggs with onion skins. However, the main event was the baking of breads. We made fruit filled hot-cross buns, chocolate hot cross buns and a lemon plaited bread called houska. I adore making breads, but certain breads were only made on that one day of the year. I really do believe this is a particularly valuable way of thinking that has been discarded in this self gratifying society we have created. So yes, I wanted to give my kids a feeling of having to wait and to have the pleasure of something that was special.

TO MAKE 15 HOT CROSS BUNS YOU NEED,

4 cups of plain flour. (organic unbleached white flour is best) ?

1 teaspoon salt.

4 teaspoons dried yeast. (if you have fresh yeast 1oz)

1&1/2 cups of milk. (any milk will do)

1 cup sultanas, raisins, currants, mixed peel. (your choice)

2oz butter.

1/4 cup of sugar.

1 egg.

1 teaspoon each of mixed spice, fresh ground nutmeg and cinnamon. (add more if you wish)

METHOD

1/ In a bowl place the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the flour. Add the milk just warmed to blood temperature and mix well. Cover with a teatowel and leave to stand in a warm place for about 15 minutes until the mixture is frothy.

2/ Into a large bowl sift the flour, spices and salt. Add the sugar and then rub in the butter. Add the beaten egg, the fruit mix and lastly the yeast mixture. Mix by kneading until everything is well combined and you have a ball of dough. Place the dough back into the bowl (grease the ball of dough or the bowl with a little oil) and cover with a cloth. Leave to stand in a warm place until the dough has doubled in bulk. This can take between half to a full hour depending on the ambient temperature. I usually wrap a towel around the base of the bowl and find the warmest spot in the house. Make sure it’s not a draughty spot.

3/ When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down, turn it out onto a floured surface and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. I was told years ago by a baker that when the dough feels like the inside of a womans thigh then you have kneaded it sufficiently.

Now cut the dough into 3 equal pieces and then divide each of those pieces into 5 pieces, which makes 15 pieces of dough. Knead each bun into a ball and place side by side into a lightly greased 7in x 11in (approx) tin.

This works out to 3 rows of 5. Again find a warm spot and leave until the buns have doubled in size. This usually takes about 30 minutes.

At this point make sure you don’t forget about them and let them rise too much or they will collapse as the gluten fibres overstretch.

FOR THE CROSSES

Mix 1/2 cup plain flour to a paste with 1/3 cup of water. Use a piping bag if you have one or just cut a corner out of a small plastic bag and use to pipe crosses over the buns. Running a line of the mix from one end of the buns to the other is the easiest way to do this. Bake in a preheated oven (180 or 360 degrees) for about 20 minutes.

FOR THE GLAZE

While the buns are cooking combine?1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon gelatine and 1 tablespoon hot water. When the buns are cooked remove from the oven and straight away brush with the glaze. Cool the buns on a wire rack.

Enjoy!