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FURNITURE TIPS

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FEATURED RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

• 400g white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 50g golden caster sugar, plus 1 tsp
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 250ml warm milk
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 50g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
• 100g chocolate chip (milk or dark, whichever you prefer), or currants or raisins
• 50g plain flour

• 2 tbsp apricot jam

Directions

• Mix the bun ingredients. Put the bread flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt in a bowl with the spices and mix. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg and butter. Start mixing with a plastic or wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add warm water, or extra flour if it’s wet.

• Now stretch the dough – this is called kneading. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 mins until it becomes smooth and springy. This will be a bit too much work for children, so get them to start the kneading, then when they get tired, take over.

• Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size because of the yeast. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size – this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.

• Add the chocolate chips and do some division. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten. Scatter over the chocolate chips (or dried fruit), and knead the dough a few more times. Divide it into 8 even portions – halve the dough, then halve each portion twice more, and explain the maths.

• Roll the dough into buns. Roll each portion into a smooth round and place on a greased baking sheet in 2 rows of 4, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise. Cover with a tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins, until almost doubled in size again or just touching.
• Make the crosses on the buns and bake them. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the plain flour with 1 tsp sugar and 4-5 tbsp water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe white lines on the buns to make crosses. Bake for 20 mins until they are light brow
• Brush them with jam if you want them to be nice and shiny. If you want to enjoy the buns untoasted, gently heat the jam in a pan or the microwave, and brush over the buns using a pastry brush. If you are going to toast them, then don’t glaze them as the jam will burn.