Recipe: Hot Cross Buns - Purity Flour 1937

HOT CROSS BUNS
Source: Purity Cookbook, 1937

1 cake compressed yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
about 3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup currants
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 egg white

QUICK METHOD:
Soften yeast in lukewarm water.

Scald milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar and cool to lukewarm.

Add yeast and half of the flour. Beat until very smooth, cover and leave in a warm place (80-90 degrees F) to rise until very light (about 1 1/4 hours).

Cream butter, add remainder of the sugar and add to sponge. Add well beaten egg, salt, currants, spices and sufficient flour to make a soft dough. Mix thoroughly, turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour).

Divide and shape into round buns and arrange on a greased baking sheet 2-inches apart. Cover lightly and leave to rise until double bulk.

Glaze with a mixture of egg white and water. Press a cross on each bun.

Bake in hot oven 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

OVERNIGHT METHOD:
To make Hot Cross Buns by the overnight method, follow above procedure but use 1/2 a dry yeast cake instead of compressed yeast and ferment sponge overnight at 75-80 degrees F. Make up the dough, etc., as in the Quick Method.