Hot cross buns with Alfie

My 6-year-old grandson, Alfie, was keen to make some buns with me.

Earlier in the day I'd soaked some dried fruit in anticipation, and, about 4.30 in the afternoon Alfie and I began:

Start with a spatula...

...get your hands in

Then, get...

...really stuck in!

We made the dough before dinner, then covered it with an upturned bowl and left it on the worktop.

After we'd eaten, we started again:

The dough had risen to fill the bowl, and was ready to shape

Cutting crosses in the top of the buns

Baked - and two went missing before I could take a pic! It was a very wet dough which makes it a little difficult to shape properly

I told Alfie to divide the dough into twelve pieces - so, under my direction, he cut it in half then divided each half into 3 pieces. Then each piece was divided in two. Alfie did all this, using my dough cutter. Then we shaped the rolls together, and placed them on the baking tray. I gave Alfie a demo of applying the crosses on top and he did the rest.

400g (or 2 mugs) strong white flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tsps each mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg

150g (1 mug) chopped dried apricots (unsulphured), 100g (half mug) sultanas (soaked overnight), plus 50g (handful) chopped dates 
25g mixed peel

1 dessertspoon fresh yeast 

250ml (or 2/3rds mug) soaking water

2 tablespoons olive oil 


For the method and shaping advice and variations, click here.