Where did Easter go.....?

I actually made the dough these on Thursday night, but my weekend seems to have run away on me. If you find it please do let me know. While the Hot X Bun season is well and truly over, we enjoyed them so much they will be reincarnated as fruit buns, perfect for breakfast or brunch. Mr PK is a fruit bread addict, so these will make a nice alternative.
I made the dough in about 10 mins on Thursday night in the Kitchen Aid, then shaped the buns & left them to rise on Friday morning while I wandered into the village to pick up my coffee. By the time I got back they were ready for the crosses and into the oven. 15 minutes later fresh hot buns, and a rather heavenly smelling kitchen.
This is a Jo Seager recipe, and makes a large batch of approx 28 buns, either halve the mixture if you want less, or what you cant eat fresh pop into the freezer, they defrost beautifully.
For everyday lose the crosses, and perhaps decrease or omit the candied peel.

Hot Cross Buns (recipe by Jo Seager from the NZ Gardener Homegrown Recipes )

4 tsp dried yeast

1¼ cups warm water (about blood temp)
2 tsp sugar
7 cups white high grade flour (this is equal to 1.05 kg)
1½ tsp salt
¼ cup caster sugar
¾ cup raisins or sultanas (I used jumbo raisins)
½ cup currants
½ cup chopped crystallised peel
2 tbsp cinnamon (I also added a grind of nutmeg, about a tsp)
2 tbsp mixed spice
2 cups warm milk (again about blood temp)
75g melted butter, cooled
1 egg beaten

Crosses
1/2 cup flour
1/ cup water

Glaze
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tbsp water


Put the water into a small jug or bowl and mix in the yeast and sugar. Leave in a warm spot for about 10 minutes until it is frothy. If nothing happens your yeast has died, throw the mix out and start with a fresh jar of yeast .
In the bowl of your mixer (or a large bowl if you are making the buns by hand) mix together all the dry ingredients and the fruit. Make a little well in the middle and add the milk, melted butter , egg and your yeast mixture, and mix well. I use the dough hook attachment, but you could mix with a wooden spoon, then turn the whole lot onto a floured bench and knead for about 8-10 minutes. For more info on bread & kneading, see here.
I now popped the dough into the fridge to use the next morning, but if you want to use straight away, shape into 25-30 buns, and leave on a tray covered with a clean tea towel in a warm spot for 1 hour, until they have risen to almost double their size. Preheat the oven to 220C.

If you are using crosses, mix together the flour and water until you have a paste that will drop off a spoon. Fill a small plastic bag (I use a glad bag) and snip off the corner to leave a hole about 1mm across.

Use this as a piping bag, and pipe your crosses on. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden. Glaze as soon as they come out of the oven.

On a rather more sombre note, as some of your already know we lost our lovely puss Pru a couple of months ago. She was a darling and we miss her. Old age crept up and she simply went to sleep under the clothes line ( Pru was a champion sleeper) She is buried under the hydrangea, lying on her favorite toy mouse. Pru never got into the concept of playing with her toys, she preferred to lay on them and have a snooze. Not being the most active girl around myself, most of the time I could see where she was coming from.....a truly cool cat.