I’m thinking this is not so much singing as annoyance.

Good Friday is coming up. If you are looking for a really good recipe for Hot Cross Buns to serve that day, I highly recommend these.

Unlike the spicy, citrusy version I posted last year, these Hot Cross Buns are lightly spiced and have the perfect balance of currants in the dough. I really like the sweet glaze.

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:

450g (3 3/4 cups) flour, plus extra for dusting
2 x 7g sachets (2 tsp) yeast
50g (1/4 cup) sugar
150ml warm milk
1 egg, beaten
50g/ 20z unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
100g (3/4 cup) currants
4 Tbs flour
2 Tbs sugar

Directions:

1. Put the flour, yeast, sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the center and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough (start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands). If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it’s too wet, add more flour.

2. Knead the dough in the bowl or on a floured surface until smooth and springy. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size, about 1 hour depending on the temperature of the room.

3. Place the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few seconds, then divide into 12 even portions. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter (or lined with parchment), leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.

4. Use a small sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again.

5. Heat oven to 200℃/400℉.

6. When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to form a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the cut crosses.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

8. While buns are still warm, melt the remaining sugar with 1 Tbs water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.

Makes 12

Recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine

This song is helplessly cheery. I’m not exactly sure what on earth they are singing about, but I know they are content and having a good hair day.

Check out Andy Mountains on Bandcamp, where you can buy their music.

Cheers!