Easter came and went...

and, I am happy to say I was able to do some baking.  My wrist is getting much better although kneading with both hands is still painful... it is coming along.  Physio is ongoing and helping a lot.

Hot Cross Buns...

Made some two weeks ago and then again last week.  They were yummy.  I finally found some decent fruit peel in nice coloured bits instead of the ugly, reddish brown sludge that I usually find at Safeway.  It still isn't as beautiful as the lovely jewel toned fruit pieces I see on the British Baking show, but, hey...at least they have colour.  Found them at a bulk site called the Bulk Barn.  And, wow !!  do they have "stuff" in that store.  I could spend hours in there.  They have all sorts of baking things too.

Anyway... I was watching my new fun guy to watch .... Geoff Cooper... a link to his baking blog on my side bar way down there.   A lovely man ... and easy to follow videos .... and decided I had to do hot cross buns again.  I haven't baked any since way back ... like, about 2010 or some silly time; good grief.  Waaaay too much time has flown.

When baking, every bake is different.  I mean it.  The very same recipe...but, always things change.  Maybe even the dryness or moistness of a day can change things..... maybe you just mix things a bit longer or a bit less...who knows....... anyway, the first batch was softer and less dense it seemed.  The second batch was not quite the same, but they were still delicious.  And, of course, they should be eaten on the same day or they do tend to be a little less soft and moist.  We usually have one straight out of the oven, and one a bit later in the day and then... well, you get it.  We are not quite as bad as hobbits, but still........

The first batch.... we were terribly greedy....only one left the house.

The second batch...we were a bit more generous and took some to neighbours and then... decided to freeze a couple.  Otherwise we would have eaten the whole second batch same as we did the first.  What a couple piggies.  It's a good thing we have a treadmill...or we could weigh 400 lbs.....

one a penny, two a penny...

..... okay...  weird.  We always said it that way... and our Mom is English.  It's just that when I was saying it out loud, to no one in particular except myself, I decided to look it up....on Google of course, and in the rhyme, it is actually one ha'penny, two ha' penny.... which is a half penny.  Seems they are cheaper in the rhyme than they are in the song.. which was the next entry on Google.. at "One a penny'  Who knew?  I wonder if they even use half pennies any more... in Canada we are even giving up the penny.

Anyway.... you probably guessed right away that I was talking about Hot Cross Buns.  I made some  yesterday. And, yes, I know they are usually baked on Good Friday.  But, on that day I had company...and I was still not feeling up to par all of the Easter weekend... so I let it slide til now.












But, I had found a recipe that claimed to be great... tasting like Easter buns of old, and I really wanted to try those buns.  It's been a long time since I gave up on store made buns...ick.... they are terrible.  Funny texture... strange flavour... who knows what they put in them.... they get rock hard before they get mouldy.... forget it... I ain't eating those things anymore.

I wanted buns.  So...because I felt more like my old self...I baked yesterday.

May I just say??    

YUM!!

The recipe is in metric measurements...and I was busy trying to convert as I was doing it.... but, want to measure the ingredients a second time...then, will put it on my food blog.  I think it would work just as well for a raisin loaf..... yep...must try that next time.  Why should we only eat yummy stuff once a year? .... must be able to just do crossless buns or bread with the same dough....