Food & Drink
Enjoy some family fun by encouraging younger children into the kitchen to help make these delicious hot cross buns, says Dale Mailley of Quay Commons and Gardener’s Cottage
Dale Mailley bakes the perfect hot cross buns, plus Rose Murray Brown on the wines of Moldova
The day before Easter is traditionally spent decorating eggs, before hunting for them on Sunday morning. I can’t remember the last time my family stuck to this tradition. I say, get the egg-rolling over and done with, and get the kids in the kitchen cooking instead. Stocking up on Easter treats can be fun and offers a chance to bake with the younger members of the family, meaning they will taste more than just endless chocolate eggs. Baking with children needn’t be taxing. Just do a little planning and get all the ingredients together before you start.
The three recipes I’m sharing are staples over Easter in our Leithbased bakery Quay Commons. Rich, delicious and packed with plump vine fruits, you can’t beat a hot cross bun. Home-made is best, and trust me, when you taste these buns straight from the oven you will never go back to shop-bought. Eat them simply with butter and take a moment to reflect over the Easter break. Enjoy.
Hot cross buns
I use a sourdough starter to make these buns which you can have delivered to your door from www. breadmatters.com. Alternatively pop into Quay Commons where our baker Dom will happily give you some of ours. Or make your own!
Makes 12 buns
200ml full-fat milk (and an additional 1 tbsp for brushing) 540g strong bread flour 50g plain flour 30g self-raising flour 40g muscovado sugar 1 orange 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp ground cloves 1 whole egg (plus an additional 2 yolks for egg wash) 35g fresh yeast 55g unsalted butter 60g sourdough starter 85g currants, soaked in orange juice overnight 85g sultanas, soaked in orange juice overnight 60g mixed peel 60ml water 15ml rapeseed oil 2 tbsp marmalade 3 tsp salt
Slice an orange into quarters and place them into a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil for 45 minutes until soft.
Remove any pips and blend to make a smooth purée. Set aside to cool down before using.
Bring the 200ml of milk to a boil and allow to cool.
Mix 500g of strong bread flour, 40g of the sugar, all the salt and the spices on a slow speed in a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
When the milk is cold, whisk the yeast and the whole egg into it and slowly add this to the dry ingredients in the mixer. Mix on a slow speed for 5 more minutes. Then add the butter, orange purée and sourdough starter.
Drain the currants and sultanas and mix thoroughly with the mixed peel and remaining 40g of strong bread flour. Add this mixture to the dough and continue mixing on slow speed for 1 more minute.
Turn the dough out onto a lightlyfloured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Then place the dough into a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to prove for 2 hours or until doubled in size; the dough is ready when a finger pressed into it leaves a dent in the surface.
Make a mixture to pipe the cross on top by combining 50g of plain flour, 30g of self-raising flour, 60ml water and 15ml rapeseed oil. Place this mixture in a piping bag.
Heat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. Cut the dough into 12 evenly-sized pieces. Take each piece of dough and flatten it on the work surface. Begin to shape the dough using pressure with the palm of your hand to roll it into ball shapes. Place them onto a tray lined with baking paper. Keep them close together if you prefer the traditional shape when separated after baking.
Make an egg wash by whisking together 2 egg yolks and the tablespoon of milk. Glaze each bun with the egg wash, then pipe the cross mix over the top in a cross pattern.
Warm the marmalade and brush over the top. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Chocolate babka
This is a yeasted cake that’s traditionally eaten at Easter time in Poland and other Eastern European countries. The cake is normally made with rum and sultanas and cooked in a bundt pan to give it a round, fluted oversized doughnut shape, before being iced. But for this version, I have made it using a brioche dough and baked it in a loaf tin. And instead of rum, I have used whisky to give it a Scottish twist.
Makes one loaf tin
720g plain flour 920ml water 100g yeast 1.2kg unsalted butter (plus 100g melted and cooled soft butter) 40g milk powder 3 tsp diastatic malt powder 96g fresh yeast 400g dark chocolate pellets 50ml whisky
Make a poolish (a croissant starter) the night before by mixing together 600g of flour with 600ml of water and 4g of yeast. Leave covered at room temperature overnight. Make a butter block the night before by mixing together 1.2kg of unsalted butter with the remaining 120g of plain flour. Roll into a thin sheet between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Refrigerate overnight.
On the day, mix together the milk powder, diastatic malt powder, melted butter, 96g of the yeast, 320ml of water and 1.2kg of the poolish in a bowl until combined and smooth.
Roll out into a rectangle, place the butter block in the centre, then fold the dough over like a letter to encase the butter and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Remove the mixture from the fridge, roll out, then fold over like a letter and repeat the process another two times. When the butter is evenly laminated, cut the dough into strips.
Place the strips of dough, the dark chocolate pellets and whisky in a mixer and mix on a low speed for a few minutes. Place the mixture in the lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.
Garibaldi biscuits
The Garibaldi biscuit, named after the Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi, is a staple in my house. The Australians call these biscuits full o’fruit and in New Zealand their name is shortened to Fruitli which I love. But the best name of all has to be the Scots name flies’ graveyard or cemetery. It is a biscuit of many names. Call it what you like. I think they’re just ace.
Makes six large biscuits
115g self-raising flour 30g butter 30g caster sugar, plus a little extra 30ml milk 50g currants 1 egg white Heat the oven to 200C/gas Mark 6. Mix the flour and butter to fine breadcrumbs, then add the 30g of sugar and milk to combine.
Transfer to a floured surface and roll into a rectangle. Sprinkle the currants over half the rectangle, then fold the dough over and roll together.
Cut into fingers, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar before baking for 25 minutes.