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Sourdough Surprises: Hot cross buns

Sunday, April 20, 2014

These buns were made in the USA with starter made in Malaysia. I am visiting my sister and her family in California over the Easter holidays and since I knew I would only be making these sourdough buns for the Sourdough Surprises challenge while I was here, some of the starter had to fly over with me. It behaved very well, and has produced these dual-nationality hot cross buns.

If I had made these in Malaysia, they would probably have contained some stout, a variety of spices and fillings. But my sister said to keep it child-friendly for her little girls, so it only has raisins and a light cardamom flavour.

I didn't follow a precise recipe. What I did was feed my starter twice. There was just over a cup of it after the second feeding to which I added an egg yolk, less than a half cup of brown sugar, ground up cardamom seeds, salt, and enough flour to mix to a soft dough. Then in went some softened butter and two cups of plumped up raisins. The dough was left to rise overnight, then I shaped nine buns, baked them without (I forgot!) an eggwash and later brushed on some jam to give them shiny tops. I would have preferred baked-in flour crosses, but my sister said to use icing instead.

I know I would have been more precise with weights and scheduling back home, but the buns turned out edible so I'm okay with them.
Happy Easter!

5 comments:

  1. They look great! Love that you brought your starter over on the plane (haha, I can just imagine you trying to explain that in customs, LOL). I love that you spiced them with cardamom.

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  2. I love so much about this post and your hot cross buns - that you traveled with your starter, that you free-formed the recipe and method, that you were able to share them with your family... everything is awesome about these. Great job!

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  3. Made in the USA with a Malaysian starter. How cool is that! You definitely get the prize for being flexible and adaptable. They look great!

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  4. Traveling with starter - now that's dedication to the challenge! Did you dry it out and reconstitute it or just carry it wet?

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    1. I carried the starter wet. It was in my luggage for over 24 hours and I wasn't sure what was going to happen at the end of it, but I'm so glad it was alive and kicking after a good feed!

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