The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking - Laurel Robertson [102]
We have not included cinnamon and other spices in the dough because they can damage the gluten and impede the rise; but traditionally, hot cross buns are flavored with a blend of winter spices. In this recipe the glaze is spiked with cinnamon and provides a mild spiciness, but if you would like more, sprinkle spices on the greased baking pans before putting the buns on them to proof. A tablespoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cloves, plus cardamom and ginger, make a good mix. Put them in a shaker and use that to dust the pans lightly after they are greased.
Shape the dough into smooth balls and arrange them in rows on the pan. The large ones should be about an inch apart; the small ones, half an inch. After shaping, let the rolls rest until the dough relaxes, about 10 minutes, and then flatten them slightly with the bottom of a quart jar or with your palm. They don’t need to be pancake flat like a regular bun, but if you don’t press them down a little, they will be like little globes—less than ideal in this case.
GLAZE:
3 tablespoons honey (45 ml)
1 tablespoon butter (14 g)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
White frosting, about 1 cup: optional (use any simple powdered-sugar type frosting)*
Let the buns rise in a warm, humid place for half an hour or more. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Make the egg wash: use the reserved egg plus 1 ½ tablespoons of water (or one egg plus the water it takes to fill half the shell); beat until smooth but not frothy. Just before the buns are ready to go into the oven, when gentle pressure of your wet finger fills in slowly, take a spatula or dough cutter and mark each bun with an indented cross, pressing down about halfway into the dough (pressing but not cutting.) Brush with egg wash. Let the dough recover for a few minutes and then put the buns into the hot oven.
Make the glaze by bringing its ingredients to a boil; remove from the heat.
Check to make sure the buns are not burning on the bottom. If necessary, move the baking sheets around in the oven to insure an even bake.
Immediately after taking them out of the oven, brush the buns with the cinnamon-honey glaze, making sure to cover the whole surface of each one. After they cool, mark the cross again, this time with the white frosting.
The buns are splendid warmed up. The white frosting keeps itself together quite well through the rewarming, which is nice. This recipe is one of the all-time most acclaimed of our Fancy Traditionals, partly because it is so much fun to do, especially with two or more people working together.
English Muffins
There are many legends about these favorites. A lot of people will tell you that they aren’t English at all, that they are as American as French fries—but anyone who has dipped into Elizabeth David’s fascinating English Breads and Yeast Cookery knows that they were made in England, even if they are no longer. Ms. David gives formulas down the centuries, and includes an old engraving of a gigantic griddle that was used to bake them in times past.
We have tried dozens of recipes, used rings, no rings; baked on griddles and in the oven—and feel pretty sure now that what follows is the best collection of secrets of success you can get, whichever flavor or style English muffin you want.
There is a vast array of English muffins on the market now in our part of the country. Only a few years ago, there was just one that was the real thing. In the old days, if you found yourself hungry in San Francisco with only a couple of coins, you could drop into the steamy warmth of any Foster’s coffee shop and for a quarter get a cup of coffee and the best English muffin in the world. It would be chewy, with big holes everywhere, toasted and dripping with butter. The flavor was a little sour, but not too sour, and very rich. It was everything you could want if you were really into English