In my kitchen…

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This week in my kitchen…

There is a whole lot of wonderful limes from my dad’s backyard tree. I’ve mentioned my love of the humble lime quite a few times, I never get tired of them. I’m thinking Coconut Lime Pie, Chicken Lime Pasta, Lime Cupcakes, Lime Marmalade… limes, limes, limes. (I’m trying not to think about caipiroska’s.)

Dark Almond chocolate for strength, patience and clarity. Works a treat… well for a little while anyway.

A new Italian cookbook. Won over at Not Quite Nigella, (which was a rather lovely surprise.)

Organic, spray free, local, seasonal fruit and vegetable box delivered to my kitchen door. Making life a little easier until I can get back to my farmers market lady.

Baking hotcross buns with a sleeping babe attached. It’s how all the bakers are doing it these days, (well ones with new babies anyway.)

Last year I did a few batches of hot cross buns. Trying to find the right recipe that worked for me. I still wanted to tweak it though, as didn’t feel it was quite ‘right’. This time I did part sourdough, part dried yeast… I’m getting there I think.

Hot Cross Buns

200g currants/raisins

200mls hot water

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp dark malt flour

1 tsp dried yeast

250g sourdough starter

100g sugar (2/3 cup, more if you like them sweeter)

250mls milk

100g softened butter

11/2-2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour (675g)

Soak the fruit in the hot water, leave for a couple of hours/ over night.  Mix all ingredients together, except for the salt. Autolyse period 20-45 minutes. Add the salt and mix again, then turn out on to a lightly floured bench to knead until you get a lovely smooth ball of dough. Pop the dough back into the bowl, plastic bag over the top and leave to prove.  A couple of proves and folds over the next few hours. Then out onto lightly floured surface again and divide into 16 or so portions. Roll into balls, or simply divide to get a more square shape. Pop them on a lined baking tray, cover and leave for another prove.

Crosses

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 water

Mix together and spoon into a piping bag just before they hit the oven.

Then bake at 210C for approximately 15-25 minutes, (until golden.)

******

What’s happening in your kitchen this week?

Have a look over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for other kitchen happenings.

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73 thoughts on “In my kitchen…”

  2. Our lime tree has quite a bit of fruit – I hope it yields a nice pile of limes like yours! And I am so looking forward to baking hot cross buns tomorrow – wish I could get into the sourdough way like you but yeast will do me for now

    BTW I assume you have eased off on your sourdough baking with the arrival of the wee one – how has your starter coped?

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    • Definitely eased off. The starter is getting an outing once a week at this stage, and coping fine with a couple of feeds before I need to use it.
      I’m sure you could easily hop aboard the sourdough train Johanna. Time is not my friend at the moment so I’m finding adding some dried yeast to the starter really quickens things up a bit and does make things a bit easier. (like these hot cross buns) Give it a crack, using half and half to start you off… I’m sure you’ll never look back.

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      • I think if I could just cross the initial hurdle of making it I would be fine but I haven’t been making so much bread in summer – maybe with winter it might be easier – though of course making hot cross buns today 🙂 The half and half approach sounds like a good one and I like hearing that starters survive life’s changes!

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  4. My parents have the biggest time tree in history and I’m never too sure what to do with the surplus……thanks for some ideas!!
    Well done on baking with bub, they can learn too early hehe

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  7. your hot cross buns look really good brydie..i’m making some with my children on sunday so they will have to be yeasted buns because it would take too long to make them with my sourdough which, like you, i’d prefer to use..the recipe we’ll be using is one i’ve tweaked and fiddled with for years to get it the way i wanted..

    happy easter to you and your family brydie..x

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    • I think that’s the wonderful thing about having a blog with your recipes on it. I can easily look back at something I’ve done in the past, get the best bits from it and then just tweak a little.

      Happy Hot Cross Bun-ning with your family on Sunday Jane.

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  9. I had one too many gins with my limes last night and am feeling the consequences today!

    I’ve halted my Food Connect box at the moment. Deliveries aren’t really feasible when I am at work and my city cousin has moved so they aren’t particularly convenient either unfortunately.

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  10. I made my buns yesterday, and I use a combination of raisins and chopped apricots, which turned out really well. Yours look stunning! Happy Easter, Brydie. xx

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  12. i would like some of those luscious limes and am very glad you have emergency chocolate to hand. Have a dreamy bun-ful Easter Brydie – love to Mr C, Monkeys and the Babe xx

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  16. Baking with a baby in a sling? Brydie, I know I keep saying this, but you really ARE a star! What a cute little head she has – did it end up dusted in flour? 🙂

    Thanks for playing, lovely to see what’s in your kitchen! I love all those gorgeous limes, and the produce looks fabulously fresh. Serendipitously, I walked past the Food Connect outlet at Rozelle just yesterday..

    xx

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    • My little girl frequently has flour dusted in her hair, crumbs stuck under her neck, and last night purple carrots dumped on her head (I was trying to eat dinner and missed my mouth :-/)

      Were you visiting Feather and Bone?

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      • I was! Wanted to check them out, and we saw the sign as we were driving back from Balmain. Not really my kind of store, unfortunately – no pricing on the boards, which made me think everything probably cost a fortune, and the set-up made me feel oddly uncomfortable. Might stick to the organic and free range offerings at Haverick’s.. 🙂

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      • If you sign up for their newsletter that lets you know the prices of everything, but you are right, it’s not cheap.
        Funnily enough we’ve been frequenting your local butcher lately, well Mr C has anyway.

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  17. Oh, look at that – sleeping babe attached. Adorable. Did I tell you, I’m marrying an Australian? I’ll be producing little Norwegian/Australian spuds before you know it… Also – are you near Sidney? Because if you are, we need to meet up when I come visit my in-laws 😉

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  19. Gorgeous limes! if I had a bowl full of limes I would make a Key Lime Pie..never made one before but just love the name! Key Lime, Key Lime, Key lime…

    Imagine what sweet dreams your little one is having as hot cross bun aromas waft into her sleeping nostrils..bliss!

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      • Key limes are so named because they famously came from the Florida Keys – a real key lime is about the size of a golf ball – Lots of impostors today are called key limes but are not – they taste very different from most other small, similar limes.

        I too love key lime pie! – but only that made with real key limes.

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  20. Your hot cross buns are gorgeous. I hope to be able to make some before Easter Sunday! I’ve cooked with a baby in a sling before and it’s not easy. I was worried all the time that she would be splattered with hot sauce xx

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  22. Hot cross buns are my absolute favorite part of Easter. I’ll be mixing up my own batch on Saturday.

    And look at all of those beautiful limes. *sigh* I wish I lived some place where citrus grew.

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  25. so cute to see you baking with your little one. beutiful buns. never tried them but I guess they are scrumptious… love tha combo of sourdough and yeast, speeds up things sparing the taste. happy Easter!

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  27. It looks like great things are happening in your kitchen Brydie. I’m impressed at the hot cross buns subsequent to baby baking input!

    Also, I received the package on arriving home today – really looking forward to watching it 🙂 Thanks again xo

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  28. I love the pic from above with baby’s head in it. I did lots of baking (and everything come to think of it) with a sleeping baby in a sling when my two were new. It makes things so much easier doesn’t it! And your hot cross buns look lovely.

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  29. Lots of lovely hair on that babe – all of mine had full heads of dark hair, too. I think bald ones look odd!
    When baking with baby attach,d spare a thought for the winemakers who have similar issues and have to gently move baby’s head to one side for the spitting ….

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  30. I had such a busy lead up to Easter with visitors and work that I never got to make hot cross buns this Easter weekend… 😦 But I will have a go later in the week, sans baby however… Better late than never, right!? – Kara

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  32. I loved your recipe from last year – I just added a few more handfuls of flour at the final kneading to bring it to the right consistency to shape the buns. Delicious! You are one productive mama. x

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