Savoury Hot Cross Buns

Easter is fast approaching and I've been thinking about what I want to bake this year. I've never made my own hot cross buns mainly because I'm not too keen on eating them. However, Stork have a blogging competition at the moment looking for Hot Cross buns with a modern twist so I thought I'd give it a go. 

My secret to better Easter Baking with Stork is giving Hot Cross Buns a modern twist by making them savoury! I decided to use pancetta, mixed herbs and cheddar with herbs. I made the cross for the bun using cheddar cheese flavoured with herbs and it worked really well. This is my first time baking a yeasted dough and I was really impressed at how well it turned out. The buns were really tasty and were best served slightly warmed with butter. You can clearly taste the herbs and cheese and the hidden bits of pancetta were a bonus. The bun was light and had a good texture to it.

 adding yeast and sugar to warm water 

 lightly fry pancetta with some mixed herbs 

 this smelt amazing! 

 activated yeast, after about 15 minutes

 cheddar with herbs 

 dough ready for proving 

 it really did double in size! 

 ready to bake 

 trying to create the cross - slightly messy! 

 savoury hot cross bun 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

1 cup warm water

7g dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

450g plain flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

75g stork, melted

1 egg

130g cubed pancetta 

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

50g cheddar cheese with herbs, grated

100g cheddar cheese with herbs (to make the cross for the buns)  

• Start by placing warm water in a jug. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar and set aside for at least 10-15 minutes. It will become frothy as shown in the picture above.
• Lightly pan fry the pancetta cubes with 1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs and allow to cool slightly. 
• In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sea salt, dried mixed herbs, stork and egg.
• Add in the fried pancetta and herbs and grated cheese and continue mixing.
• Knead the dough until firm and smooth. 
• Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film.
• Leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until the  dough has doubled in size. 
• Punch the risen dough and knead for a few minutes.
• Divide into 12 even pieces (I weighed the dough then divided by 12)
• Place on a baking tray spaced apart and cover with cling film that has been sprayed with cooking oil or non stick spray. 
• Leave for about 30 minutes or so until the dough has risen further.
• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Using a pair of kitchen scissors, make a small 'x' shaped cut on top of each bun.
• Brush with egg wash and then bake for about 10 minutes.
• Place the cheddar and herb cheese in a ziplock bag and melt in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds until soft and pliable. Snip off the end of the bag.
• Take the buns out of the oven and pipe a cross on top of each bun with the soft cheese. 
• Return to the oven and continue baking for a further 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The cheese would have melted and should leave the shape of a cross.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack or eat warm straight from the oven with some butter. 

Disclaimer: I was sent some basic baking ingredients from Stork to help create this recipe. I paid for all additional ingredients to make a modern twist to my hot cross buns.