Share My Cravings: Sultana Bread

All of my preparations for Christmas have gotten me in the mood for holiday food.

This has led to a craving for hot cross buns (hey, my hormones don't know which holiday it is), which in turn made me wonder:
WHY HAVE I NEVER MADE SULTANA BREAD BEFORE??

There was no good answer. So I sent myself straight to the kitchen.

For this bread I just used my favourite hot cross bun recipe, thrown into a bread tin.
It was beautiful, but a bit too fluffy (perfect in bun form) for my preference, as I like a more dense fruit bread. I'll experiment some more next time.

Nonetheless, this was delicious. Next time I use this recipe I'll just make buns without the cross on top.


Hot Cross Buns/Spicy Sultana Bread
Makes 12 buns or 1 large loaf


600g plain flour (I used wholemeal)
300ml of warm milk (I used soy)
2 cups sultanas
2 eggs
14g dry yeast
60g caster sugar (I skipped this without substituting)
60g butter (I used soy margarine)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp orange essence
zest of one orange


1. Whisk together warm milk, sugar (optional) and yeast until sugar is dissolved. Cover and leave till frothy (5-10 min).

2. Sift together flour, spices and salt.

3. Rub butter into flour mix.

4. Stir sultanas and orange zest into flour and butter mix.

5. In a separate bowl beat eggs. Add orange essence to eggs.

6. Stir egg mix and yeast mix into flour. Stir well.

7. Cover mix and leave until it has doubled in size.

8. Turn out and knead for 5-8 minutes until smooth.

9. Separate into 12 balls (for buns) and place in a lined oven tray or place into greased and floured bread tin. Cover and leave for a second rise.

10. Once bread has risen again (to almost double), place in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until done. (Bread is done when it sounds a little hollow when you knock on the top with your knuckles.)

11. If making buns, bake first for 10 minutes at 200 degrees, then a further 15 minutes at 180.



And then enjoy!





We did!