Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday

I couldn't believe it. Winter arrived on Thursday morning. My bleeding hearts are bowed over, as are the clematis and peonies. The hyacinth leaves are darkened and shriveled to the ground. Isn't it supposed to be spring? At least I have the masses of flowers I picked on Wednesday to keep me happy...


And baking! Baking makes me happy, especially holiday baking. Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday, lemon ricotta pie and pizelles for Easter. My holidays all seem to revolve around food!


Again referring to A Year In Bread, the recipe for Kevin's Hot Cross Buns called to me. I make these every Good Friday and was interested in Kevin's recipe because it was a slow-refrigerator-rising recipe. I was able to make them on Thursday afternoon, pop the formed dough in the fridge until the next morning, take them out and set the pan on the table to warm up for a few hours, then bake them as a mid-morning treat. The changes I made were to reduce the allspice to 1/4 teaspoon, add 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, sub chopped dried cranberries for the currants, and I added some toasted sliced almonds as well. These were quite delicious! I inadvertently left them in the oven for about 4 minutes too long (I ran outside fill the birdfeeder and it took longer than I anticipated. Multitasking rarely works for me...) but a little bit of dryness to the bread was the only negative (and that was entirely my fault). The buns had a good crumb and the spices combined with the almonds and cranberries were yummy.

Well, we have had a guest for the past day and now he and Jack are at a hockey game, giving me a few hours to get ready for tomorrow. Go Pens!
and, to everyone,

HAPPY EASTER !!!