Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns

Small things that made me happy today:

- Seeing a naked hermit crab, still searching for the perfect shell

- Watching my father's fish that was born with one normal fin and one tiny chicken wing fin thrive amongst its other fishy counterparts. 

- Trying a kiwi berry (the texture kinda threw me off, but I'm glad I tasted it)

- Getting my hair cut for the first time since December and feeling all light and fluffy. 

Mm. So many moments that made me smile throughout the day. Another one of those moments? Being able to eat a warm hot cross bun for breakfast. It's so wonderful just sitting back and relaxing with a cup of tea and the spring sunshine, not having to worry about getting to class.

 

Hot cross buns are a Good Friday food (I just happened to make them that day, yay for learning!) studded with dried fruit and orange zest. Bleh. I am not a fan of what my mom calls "dead fruit". I am a person of simpler tastes (i.e. chocolate chips. Good ol' Nestle).  Well, I'm off to bed, hopefully to have another day filled with simple pleasures :) 

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns 

adapted slightly from Butter

For the buns
3 packets instant dry yeast (21g, 3/4 oz)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups bread flour
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup chocolate chunks or chips

For the glaze
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp hot water

For the crosses
60g white chocolate (2 oz)

To make the buns, combine the lukewarm milk, sugar and dry yeast in a small bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes. It should become frothy and increase in size.

Fit your mixer with the dough hook and put the flour and salt in the bowl of your mixer (if you don’t have one, you could do this by hand). Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the melted butter, lightly beaten egg and frothy yeast mixture, as well as the chocolate chips.

Turn the mixer on low and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. My dough was a bit dry so I ended up adding a little extra milk. Place it in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and set aside in warm place for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until the dough doubles in size.

Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.

Once the dough has risen, knock it down and knead lightly. Divide the dough evenly into 15 or 16 balls and place them close together on the baking tray, in a 4 x 4 or 5 x 3 arrangement.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cover the hot cross buns with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 20 minutes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. While the buns are baking, prepare your glaze.

For the glaze, dissolve the sugar in the hot water.

Once the buns are cooked, remove them from the oven and quickly brush them with a few coats of the glaze.

To make the crosses, melt the white chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, stirring in between. Put the chocolate into a small zip loc bag or piping bag, snip off the end and pipe crosses across the chocolate chip buns.

Serve warm. Makes 15-16 hot cross buns.

Banana Sandwich Bread

Back at school, back in normal life with four classes, and four classes worth of homework. Such is life. Couple that with applying for summer internships and study abroad, socializing, alone time...you get the idea. Now that I don't have it anymore, I miss the relaxed atmosphere of interim. No cafeteria lines, little to no homework...you always want what you don't have, right? 

Anyway, I made banana bread. Probably not the kind you're thinking of. I've tried many times to make that delicious quick bread on here, but my pictures always turn out ugly or I get distracted or I just want to eat my dang bread and not worry about blogging. Haha. I assure you, I make an awesome banana bread. Come visit and I'll make it for you sometime.

Truth: every time I've tried to make sandwich bread it turns out flavorless and most likely raw in the middle. It seems I have lifted that curse. Is the secret that this bread contains a banana? Maybe it's the fresh cake yeast (which, by the way, had a totally different texture than I was expecting!). Or, most likely, I've just gotten better. Practice makes perfect. Make this and you'll end up with something almost like a Hawaiian bread. I think it makes lovely sandwiches, but then again, I enjoy adding a little sweet to my savory.

Or just more sweet to my sweet, haha. 

Banana Sandwich Bread

from King Arthur Flour 

• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 3 cups Unbleached Bread Flour
• 2 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or 21 g crumbled fresh yeast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 medium-sized bananas, cut into chunks, about 3/4 cup

In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough. Knead the dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by mixer (5 minutes) until it's smooth. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into a log. Place the dough in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it is full and rounded.

 Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.