3/4cupconfectioners sugaralso known as powdered sugar
1Tbspmilk
1Tbspbuttersoftened
1/2tsplemon juice
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, salt, yeast, and 2 cups of flour.
In a saucepan over low heat, heat milk and butter until warm. Your butter does not have to melt completely.
With a mixer on low speed, slowly beat wet ingredients into dry ingredients
Once lightly combined, increase speed to medium and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape bowl occasionally while beating.
Add eggs and another 2 cups of flour to the mixture and continue mixing for 2 more minutes.
Stir in a little extra flour until you have a soft dough. About 1/2 cup or less.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
Add dough to a greased bowl, making sure to grease the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rise until it has doubled in size, around 1 hour. Be sure to keep your dough in a warm, draft-free area
Add raisins and chopped candied orange peels to dough, knead just until incorporated.
Divide dough into 12 pieces. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Shape dough pieces into balls and place into a greased 13x9 baking dish.
Cover with a towel and let the dough balls rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine water with egg yolk. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
While the buns are baking, prepare your icing. With a mixer set to low, mix all icing ingredients until smooth.
To make the icing cross, add icing to a piping bag or ziplock bag with the corner cut off. Gently squeeze icing horizontally, then vertically across each bun.
Notes
In this recipe, you will add the yeast with the dry ingredients, it will dissolve later when liquid is added. As long as your yeast is not past its expiration date, the proofing step you are accustomed to seeing is not needed. If you aren’t sure about your yeast, you can proof it by using some of the warm liquid in the recipe prior to adding it in.
You can substitute active dry yeast with quick rising/instant yeast by simply swapping them out in the ingredients list.
Pipe the icing on while the buns are warm, but not piping hot, so it creates a slight glaze.
While we don't add any spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves in our dough, you can add these ingredients to make spiced buns.