Good Morning,
Today is April 3, 2015, the moon
is full, and it is Good Friday. This particular moon is called the Paschal
Moon. It is the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, and is used to
determine the date for Easter.
In our household, the tradition
is to rise early on Good Friday and make hot cross buns. The process begins
when it is still dark and the moon is shining in through the kitchen window. It
takes a few hours to make the buns, which allows time to watch the sun rise. It is
always a joy.
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
2 envelopes yeast (2
Tablespoons)
¼ cup of lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
1 ½ cups of milk
½ cup of butter
½ cup of brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
2 eggs
3 cups flour (I use a mixture of
unbleached and whole wheat pastry flour)
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of cloves
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
1 cup raisins
1. Dissolve 2 envelopes yeast (2
Tablespoons) in ¼ cup of lukewarm water with 1 Tablespoon of brown
sugar
2. Scald 1 ½ cups of milk. Add
½ cup of butter, ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. Cool.
3. Beat two eggs until light and
combine with cooled milk and yeast mixture.
4. Sift 3 cups flour with 2
teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, and ½ teaspoon nutmeg.
5. Add yeast mixture to above
and beat with a mixer for 4 minutes.
6. Toss fruit with ½ cup of
flour and mix into sponge. Continue adding flour until you get a firm dough.
7. Set in pan of warm water
until it rises and is double in size (approximately and hour or more).
8. Beat down and form into 20
balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let it rise again, approximately 45
minutes to an hour.
9. Bake 15 minutes in a 400
degree oven.
Enjoy!
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Enjoy!
