Sourdough Hot Cross Buns

Day 1

• Mix Levain (1:8:8 at 78ºF takes about 8-10 hours)
• Mix together ripe sourdough starter, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and water. Cover and keep in a warm 78ºF place for about 8-10 hours until bubbly, doubled in size and active. You can adjust the feeding ratio to have the levain ready when you want it.

Sourdough Hot Cross Bun Dough

• • Mix Dough: Warm the milk in the microwave to right around 90ºF. To the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the ripe levain, warmed milk, brown sugar, egg and orange zest. Add the bread flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves on top. Turn on the mixer and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and all the ingredients well incorporated.

• Add Butter: Cut the butter into 8-10 chunks. Butter should be firm but soft enough to leave a dent when you press your finger into the butter. Turn the mixer on and add chunks of butter into the dough a little at a time. Continue adding chunks of butter until all the butter is added and incorporates into the dough.
• Knead: Continue kneading the dough on medium speed for about 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Add the currants and knead for another minute until currants are mixed throughout the dough.
• Bulk Fermentation: At this point the dough will be soft and cohesive. Dump the dough into a container and cover. Set the dough in a warm, 78ºF place for 4 hours. Take the temperature of the dough as needed to make sure the dough temperature stays right around 78ºF. This temperature is the optimal fermentation. If your dough temperature is cooler than 78ºF, it will need to ferment longer than 4 hours.
• Shape and Proof: Dump the dough out onto a (clean) countertop. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter using your hand in a cupping shape (see video here) to seal the balls and create tension for the bun to rise.
• Line a 9 by 13 pan with parchment paper (so the buns stay soft and don’t stick on to the bottom) and place dough balls in the pan, 3 across and 4 down. Cover the pan and let the buns rise overnight for about 8-10 hours at 78ºF. If your temperature is warmer than this, the fermentation will go FASTER. If the temperature is colder than 78ºF, the fermentation will go SLOWER. I use a bread proofer to keep the temperature consistent. If making these in the summer, be very careful because they could over-proof in warmer temperatures if you proof them overnight.

Day 2

• Pre-heat Oven and Egg Wash Buns: The next morning, the dough should be puffed up and doubled in size. If the rolls are not puffed up and risen, place them in a warmer place to finish rising. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. While the oven is preheating, prepare a simple egg wash by whisking an egg with a little splash of water. Brush on top of all the buns.
• Pipe Cross: The signature look of a hot cross bun is the piped cross on top of the bun. Mix together 40 grams flour with 50 grams water. Add mixture to a piping bag (or ziplock bag). Snip off the end and pipe a line down the center of each row of buns. Turn the pan 90º and pipe a straight line across the buns in the other direction, resulting in a cross on all the buns.
• Bake: Bake buns in 350ºF pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until baked all the way through until the internal temperature is 190ºF.
• Glaze: Mix together powdered sugar with the juice of an orange. A few minutes after the buns come out of the oven, brush the glaze all over the tops of the buns. Let cool a little bit and enjoy!