Hot Cross Buns for Easter Sunday
“Many hands make light work"
During the 3 weeks before Easter in March, Katie Emmons will be looking for dough makers and a few bakers on Easter who will be part of the warm Hot Cross Buns that are laid on the table for Easter coffee hour.
If the words “yeast bread” send you into a deep hiding place, not to worry. Really. On March 9 in the St. Peter’s kitchen between 9am and 10:30am, we will make a batch of dough both by hand and by bread machine to show how to do this amazing skill of yeast bread. We will have the ingredients and at least one skilled baker (Ed Gamber, baker extraordinaire, will be there) who will walk everyone through the process. Come join us, bring your children. The goal of the morning is to teach everything you need to know to make a batch of hot cross buns through the first rise so that you can go home and make a batch for Easter Sunday. Watch out, yeast breads can be an addictive, yet surprisingly fulfilling journey.
Click below for what entails to help with this wonderful ministry and for the recipe!
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Prepare and Freeze the Dough and Leave the bag in the kitchen freezer at church.
1. The recipe is written for bread machines but can be adapted to hand mixing. A bread machine will bring the dough through the first rise.
2. After the first rise, cut up (literally, I use scissors) into small chunks. The recipe says that a double batch produces 18 rolls, but I usually get 25 to 30 small rolls for that double batch. Roll those chunks with your hands into a ball and place on a tray in the freezer.
3. After a few hours (or whenever you think of it), pull the tray out of the freezer, pop the frozen rolls into a Ziplock bag, add a tag or tape to show how many rolls are in the bag and pop back into the freezer.
4. When you next come to church, throw the bag in the freezer in the kitchen on the shelf with the other bags, sign your name and the number of rolls on the sheet of paper posted in the front of the freezer and pat yourself on the back.
5. GOAL: 250 rolls for Easter morning.
Click here for the recipe!
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1. On Saturday night of the Easter Vigil, a team will pull the rolls out of the freezer, cover every baking sheet in the kitchen with parchment paper, pull the rolls from the freezer and lay them out on the baking sheets with enough room for the dough to expand. Each tray will be covered with saran wrap and left to rise overnight.
2. On Sunday, Easter morning, a team will pray for the miracle of risen rolls (get the metaphor?), turn on the ovens, cover each roll with a light egg wash (so they are a fabulous golden color), bake each batch, let cool slightly and decorate with a glaze in the shape of a cross.
3. Take the warm rolls out to the Narthex and watch people swoon.
Click here for the recipe and further baking instructions!
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Click here for the recipe and further baking instructions!
The ingredients are readily available:
Golden raisins: Trader Joe’s carries them.
Orange juice: I have used fresh squeezed, pricey but irresistible.
Yeast: I use instant yeast that sits in my frig. Jars or small packets do as well.
Bread flour: I use King Arthur bread flour, cheapest source is Walmart out at Tyson’s
Orange peel: Forget the dried, just use an old orange that you have in kitchen and grate it until you have a small pile.
Butter: use unsalted because the quality is higher.