Hot Cross-Buns Tangzhong

Hot Cross Buns

Classic hot cross buns—soft, lightly spiced, and studded with rum-soaked raisins for extra flavor.

Ingredients

For the Buns

4½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, plus more as needed
1 cup warm water, divided
1 cup raisins
3 tablespoons rum (or water)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise yeast (this is more than one packet)
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 large eggs, divided (1 for brushing the buns)
1 large egg yolk

For the Icing

1 cup (4 oz) confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons milk
Pinch salt

Directions:

Make the Tangzhong:  Take 3 tablespoons of measured flour out of the mixing bowl and combine it in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup of the warm water (from the 1 cup): whisk until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a smooth paste resembling pudding or thin mashed potatoes, about 2 minutes.  Scrape into a medium bowl and let cool until just warm.

Plump the raisins and rum in a small bowl.  Cover and microwave until steaming about 1 minute.  Let set until softened, about 15 minutes.  Drain the raisins and discard the liquid, and blot dry with a paper towel.

Mix the dry ingredients:  In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the sugar, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice,  and salt to the flour in the mixing bowl.  Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to combine.

 To the bowl with the tangzhong paste, add remaining 1/2 cup warm water and melted butter and whisk to combine.  Add 2 of the eggs and the egg yolk and whisk until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead on medium-low speed until you have a soft elastic dough that clings to the bottom of the bowl, 8 or 9 minutes.  The dough will be sticky, which is normal--this is what gives the buns their light, tender texture.  Reduce the speed to low,  add the raisins, and mix until incorporated, about 2 minutes.  If the raisins and fully incorporated, finish mixing the dough by hand to distribute them evenly.  

At this point, the dough will still be quite sticky, but you should be able to handle it and shape into a ball.  If needed sprinkle in additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing briefly just until incorporated, (you may need up to 1/4 cup more flour, add only as much as needed to make the dough easy to handle.  Lightly flour your hands and gather the dough into a smooth ball.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft free spot until noticeably puffy and lighter in texture (it may not be double in bulk 2 to 3 hours.)

Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with non stick spray.  Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and divide into 12 equal pieces, (about 100gm each.  To shape, pull the edges of each piece into the center to form a little pouch to seal.  Flip seam-side down, then gently roll to create a smooth ball.  Tuck any exposed raisins underneath as best you can: if some peak through, that's perfectly fine.  Arrange the balls in the prepared pan, smooth side up, in 3 rows of 4.  Cover loosely and let rise until puffy and pressing against one another.  1 1/2 hours.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350*F.

In a small bowl, beat the remaing egg and brush the buns with it,  Bake until golden brown and the centers register 190*F with an instant read thermometer, 24 to 26 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool until just warm, about 1 hour.Run a thin knife around the edges to loosen.  You can either lift the buns out of the pan and separate them, or leave them in the pan for a more rustic presentation.

For the Icing:  

Combine the confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, adding more milk as needed.  The icing should be very thick, like a soft paste.

Transfer the icing to a zipper-lock sandwich bag and snip the corner, about 1/8 inch opening in one of the bottom corners and pipe lines across the buns to form crosses.  If the buns are still in the pan, pipe directly over the top; if removed, pipe over the individual buns.  Serve.