It seems hot cross buns have been in the supermarkets back home - probably at a dollar for a packet of six - for a good long time because there have been lots of status updates about them on facebook. I thought the tradition was to have them on Good Friday but wiki tells me they're generally served during lent. All I remember from my childhood is Easter eggs were definitely a no-go before Easter Sunday. Regardless, I've been craving them for a while but kept forgetting to prepare the sourdough starter the night before I had some time to bake bread. Finally I prepared it during a morning when I thought there would be some spare time within the next 48 hours. Because I am more wary of my starter working, I decided to also bake some dried yeast hot cross buns. That way I knew there would be some successful buns (dried yeast always rises) and I could compare the two types of breads. Both recipes called for 1/4 cup of sugar but because I'm still trying to be basically sugar-free, I only put in a teaspoon or two to help encourage the yeast to activate.
The first photos are the yeast buns, the second are the sour dough buns. They both rose beautifully and have a soft, yummy looking crumb. However, we both thought the sourdough buns were better. Somehow they seem to have more substance to them, with a richer crumb. The dried yeast ones were so light and fluffy, they were like eating air. I was surprised as they called for two eggs and twice as much butter. I'm definitely hooked on sourdough bread - it's the good stuff. It was very hard for me not to spread a berry jam on the final outcome but I didn't succumb, settling for melty butter instead.
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