Healthy Hot Cross Buns

Serves: 16 buns
Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

• Plain Bread Flour, 350g
• Wholemeal Flour, 150g
• Rolled Oats, 100g
• Ground Cinnamon, 2 tsp
• Ground Nutmeg, 2 tsp
• Grated Orange Rind, 1 tsp
• Dried Yeast, 2 tsp
• Low Fat Milk, 250ml
• Sugar, 2 tbsp
• Vanilla Essence, 2 tsp
• Olive Oil, 3 tbsp
• Medium-sized Eggs, lightly beaten, 2
• Raisins, 250g
• Salt, ½ tsp

Flour paste

• Plain Flour, ½ cup
• Water, enough to make a thick paste

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange rind, yeast and salt. Mix well with a spoon.
2. In a saucepan, warm the milk. Stir in the vanilla essence and sugar.
3. Add milk mixture, whisked eggs and oil to the dry ingredients.
4. With your hands, or a dough mixer, mix the ingredients into a dough, adding more flour if needed. Knead well, until mixture is smooth and elastic, no longer sticking to the hand, for about 20 minutes.
5. Add the dried fruits and knead lightly to incorporate the fruits into the dough.
6. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave the dough to double in size in a warm place, for about an hour.
7. Punch the dough and tip it onto a lightly floured kneading board.
8. With a knife, divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Shape each portion into a bun, by cupping your hand over the dough and moving in a circular motion.
9. Place the buns on a lightly oiled baking tray and cover with a damp cloth. Leave for another 15-20 minutes, or until the buns have doubled in size.
10. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190˚C.
11. In a small bowl, mix the plain flour with enough water to make a paste. Spoon the paste into a zip lock bag, cut a small hole at one end of the bag, and pipe a cross on the top of each of the buns.
12. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Nutrients per serving
Energy: 230 kcal
Protein: 7g
Total Fat: 5g
Carbohydrate: 23g
Sodium: 90mg
Dietary Fibre: 2g