Spelt & Spice Buns

The kids are finding it hard to accept Easter having passed for the year – no more chocolate eggs (thank God, Mummy ate most of them!) along with the fact that there are no more hot crossed buns in the shops.  We made these delicious currant buns with spelt this morning which made a great rainy day treat.  I’ve adapted the recipe from plain flour to spelt which proves more flavoursome however you may need to add some more flour before you roll the buns if the dough is too sticky, it’s a bit of a suck it and see exercise.  They’ll only need 10 mins in the oven if you make them small like golf balls, or 14 mins or so for a slightly larger version.  The glaze is divine, so sticky and moreish – be generous when painting the buns & be sure to serve with lashings of butter and even some jam if you feel they need sweetening up.

Ingredients

3 ⅔ cups wholemeal spelt flour (if you use plain flour – white or wholemeal – use 3 ⅓ cups)

2 tsp instant yeast

4 tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice (I used ½ tsp each of cloves and cinnamon)

½ cup currants, soaked in orange juice for at least 30 mins

400 ml milk

1 tbsp butter

Glaze:

¼ cup orange juice

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp mixed spice (again, I used ½ tsp each of cloves and cinnamon)

Method

1.  Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, spice and currants.  Heat the milk and stir through the butter until it melts.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and bring together until you have a wet dough.
2. Use the dough hook of an electric mixer or by hand, knead until the dough is smooth.  Leave to rest in a large oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel until doubled in size (about an hour).
3. Pull small pieces of the dough off and roll into nuggets about the size of golf balls, and place 2 cm apart on a baking tray.  If the dough is too sticky, add some more flour.  Cover the buns on the tray and leave for another 30 mins.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 (180 fan forced).
4. Bake the buns for 10-15 mins or until golden then remove from the oven.
5. Make the glaze by heating the ingredients together in a small pan over high heat.  Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes.
6. Brush the buns gently with the glaze while still warm, sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Serve with butter and jam.