Hot cross bun brioche

Hot cross buns was one of the first things I learned to make when I started baking as I really like them! Now it’s a stable yearly thing - though a lot has improved since. This year I m making them into a big tin - like a fruity brioche - but the recipe is the same. It is a long process made with pasta madre (my stiff starter for sweet bakes). Soft and beautifully aromatic from different spices, zest, aromantic paste (homemade from oranges) and various tea soaked fruits such as currants, raisins, sultanas and my homemade candied oranges, lemons and kumquats.

They're decorated with a white cross representing the crucifix hence why they are a traditional Easter food though you can now find them all year round. 
It is best eaten fresh or slightly warmed but I find that the taste matures with time -  they make the best toasts ever!

(Abt 700 gr)

Ingredients: flour, sourdough, milk, butter, egg, salt,  sugar, spices (cinnamon/nutmeg/cardamon/ginger/all spice), currants, raisins, sultanas, candied citrus, star anise.