Simnel spiced breakfast loaf
Toast a slice of this celebration bread and top with butter to give hot cross buns a serious run for their money
Chocolate & tropical fruit hot cross buns
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook: -
- plus 1 hr rising and 1 hr proving
- Easy
- 8
Skip to ingredients
Ingredients
- 50g sultanas
- 50g dried pineapple
- 50g dried mango
- 2tbsp dark rum
- 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 50g golden caster sugar
- cinnamon
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 1 orange, zested
- 50g chopped dark chocolate
- milk, for brushing
- 50g plain flour
- 2tbsp apricot jam
- 50g melted dark chocolate, for drizzling
Method
- STEP 1
Soak the sultanas, pineapple and mango in the rum for 1 hr.
- STEP 2
Mix the bread flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, oil, 2 tsp sea salt and 350ml warm water in a bowl with a spoon first, and then with your hands. Add the zest, chopped chocolate and soaked fruit and continue to knead (or use a mixer fitted with a dough hook) for around 10 mins until it feels less sticky. Shape into a ball, return to the bowl and cover. Leave to rise for about 1 hr or until doubled in size (or leave in the fridge overnight).
- STEP 3
Knock the air out of the dough. On a floured surface, shape into eight buns. Put the buns on a baking tray lined with baking parchment (no more than 2cm apart) and prove somewhere warm for 1 hr or until well risen.
- STEP 4
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Brush the bun tops with milk. Mix the plain flour with water to make a paste, transfer to a piping bag and pipe crosses on top. Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and risen. Brush with the jam while still warm. Once cooled, drizzle with the melted dark chocolate.
