Makes 16 buns

Ingredients:

For the buns:

5o grams of sugar
1 sachet of “easy bake” yeast or 1 teaspoon of “active” yeast
275 mls of milk (warmed to blood temperature so you can hardly feel it when you put a finger in it)
500 grams of flour (white or a mix of white and whole wheat, remembering that whole wheat will make a smaller, heavier bun)
50 grams of butter
1 egg
1 tsp salt
200 grams of raisins or sultanas or dried mixed fruit soaked in a couple of tablespoons of hot water for an hour or so
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice (or allspice if that is all you have)
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

For the cross on the top:

50 grams white flour
pinch of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
50 mls cool water

For the glaze:

melted honey or melted golden syrup

Step 1:

Warm the milk and pour it into a big mixing bowl.  Dissolve the yeast and 1/2 the sugar in the milk.  Add 1/4 of the flour and stir it around.  Cover it let it sit for an hour or so to get the yeast going.  It should be frothy at the end of an hour.  In a separate bowl, you can soak the fruit in the hot water while this mixture is doing its thing.

Step 2:

Add all of the rest of the ingredients – EXCEPT THE FRUIT – to the frothy mixture and knead it for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes by machine.  Let it relax for 10 minutes or so.  Drain the fruit and fold it into the mixture by hand.  This mixture will be sticky.

Step 3:

Put the dough back into the bowl and let it rise until it has doubled in volume

Step 4:

Squash the dough down and, with floured hands, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll them into buns and put them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment about 5 cm apart.  Slightly flatten them.  Cover them and let them rise until they have doubled in size.

Step 5:

Prepare the “cross” mixture and pipe it onto the buns with an icing bag, a plastic bag with a tiny hole cut in the bottom, or a squeezy bottle.  Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celcius.  Check after 15 minutes.  The buns should be brown and the crosses should be white.  If the buns are not brown, give them another couple of minues but be careful, you don’t want to over bake them or they will lose their fluffiness.

Step 6: 

While they are still hot, brush them with melted honey or golden syrup.  Try not to burn yourself as you stuff them into your mouth.