Sourdough Hot Cross Buns

Prepare the Sponge:

Combine the sourdough starter, milk, all-purpose flour, and sugar. Mix just until smooth. It will be very thin. The desired temperature is 80 degrees F. Cover the sponge with plastic wrap and let it stand for 1-2 hours. It should be light and bubbly, but it should have some structure.

Mixing the Dough:

Place the sourdough starter, flour, and spices in a large bowl. Lightly beat the eggs with the raw honey and milk, then add to the sourdough/flour mixture. Mix until completely combined and a very sticky dough has formed. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over the dough.  Knead until the dough begins to look smooth and shiny. The dough will be wet but try not to add any flour at this point. Keep kneading until the dough is developed, then knead in the dried fruit and candied orange peel. I used the bowl scraper to help with this process.  It keeps the dough from sticking to your fingers and keeps the bowl clean.

Add in the butter, a little at a time. Knead until all the butter is fully incorporated. The final dough should be very soft, but not at all sticky. If it’s too sticky at this point, add a little extra flour.

Let the dough sit for 1 hour. After an hour, fold it over on itself a few times on a floured board or in the bowl, then place it back in the bowl and let it rise for another hour. After two hours, you can continue with the shaping below, or place it in the refrigerator to retard overnight.

If you retarded the dough overnight, take it out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature (1 –2 hours) before proceeding to dividing and shaping.

Dividing and Shaping:

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape them into small round balls about 2.7 ounces each. Place the rolls on a greased sheet pan in an even configuration. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the crust from developing on the surface. Let them rise at room temperature, 1-2 hours. If you retard your rolls in the refrigerator, they probably won’t double in size during the final rise, but they should have fairly good oven spring once they are baked.

Baking/Glazing the Buns:

As I mentioned, I used icing to make the crosses. I baked the buns and then glazed them with the honey/orange glaze while they were hot. Once the glaze had dried, I piped on the icing.

If you prefer to make a flour crossing paste, refer to Kresha’s method. You’ll want to pipe on this type of paste before you bake the buns.

Bake the rolls in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven for 20-30 minutes until the rolls are golden and at least 190 degrees inside.

For the glaze, heat the honey and the orange juice over medium heat until it begins to simmer rapidly. Remove from the heat and brush the glaze over the rolls as soon as they are removed from the oven.