1/2 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 Cup of Chopped Dates
1 tsp Mixed Spice
1/2 tsp Bicarb of Soda
1 tbsp Butter
1 Cup Boiling Water
1 1/2 Cup Sef-Raising Flour

1. Preheat oven 180 °C or 375 °F.

2. Prepare cooking dish. Greas & flour loaf tin.

3. Chop dates, place in a bowl with sugar, ginger, nutmeg, mixed spice, bicarb soda and butter. Pour boiling water over and mix well.

4. Sift flour into bowl. Mix well.

5. Pour into prepared loaf tin.

6. Bake in moderate oven for 35 minutes or until cooked.

7. Serve slice, spread with butter.

Dough

4 1/2 cups plain flour
2 x 7g dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
pinch salt
1 1/2 cup currants
40g butter
300ml milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 tbsp water

Glaze

1/3 cup water
4 tbsp Apricot Jam

1. Combine 4 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt and currants in a large bowl.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the milk. Heat for 1 minute, or until lukewarm. Add warm milk mixture and eggs to currant mixture.

3. Use a flat bladed knife to mix the dough until it almost comes together, then using clean hands, finish mixing to a soft dough.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth.

5. Place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught free place for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until dough doubles in size.

6. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Punch dough down to its original size. Knead for 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 12 even portions and shape each portion into a ball.

7. Place balls onto the lined tray, about 1cm apart. Cover with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm, draught free place for 30 minutes, or until buns double in size.

8. Preheat fan-forced oven to 170 °C.

9. To make the flour paste, mix 1/2 cup plain flour and 4 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if paste is too thick. Spoon into a small snap-lock bag and snip off one corner to create piping bag. Pipe flour paste over tops of buns to form crosses.

10. Place into preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until buns are cooked through.

11. To make the glaze, place water and jam into a small saucepan over low heat and stir until jam dissolves. Bring to the boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat. Immediately brush glaze over warm hot cross buns.

12. Serve warm or at room temperature.

2 tsp dried instant yeast
435ml milk, warmed
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
4 1/4 cups (635g) bread and pizza flour (strong flour)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 cup (50g) good-quality Dutch cocoa
75g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1 egg, lightly beaten
150g dark (70%) chocolate, chopped into 1cm pieces

PIPING MIXTURE

1/3 cup (50g) bread and pizza flour
2 tsp caster sugar

1. Place yeast, milk and 1 tbs sugar in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until frothy.

2. Place the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and cocoa in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast mixture, melted butter, egg and 90g caster sugar. Knead on medium-low speed for 5-6 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Alternatively, knead by hand on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.)

3. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size.

4. Grease and line the base of a round 30cm cake pan with baking paper.

5. Knock back the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in the chopped chocolate, then divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll into smooth balls. Place in the greased pan, leaving a 1cm gap between each for dough to expand. Set aside in a warm place for a further 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

7. For the piping mixture, place the flour, sugar and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a small bowl and stir until a smooth paste. Spoon paste into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle. Pipe crosses onto the risen buns.

8. Bake buns for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven to 170 °C and cook for a further 25-30 minutes until cooked through.

9. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, place remaining 1/2 cup (110g) sugar and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a small pan over low heat stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until reduced and slightly sticky, then set aside to cool.

10. Brush warm buns with glaze, then serve.

105g butter
3/4 cup milk
30g compressed yeast
1/4 cup milk, extra
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 egg, extra
300 ml carton thickend cream
Icing sugar
Almond Paste
1/2 cup ground almonds
Few drops almond essence
1 cup icing sugar
1 egg white

1. Combine ground almonds, almond essence, sifted icing sugar and egg white in a bow.

2. Beat until mixture is well combined.

3. Put butter and milk in saucepan, sitr over heat until butter has melted. Cool mixture to lukewarm. Cream yeast with extra milk. Add butter-milk mixture to yeast mixture. Beat together with sugar and egg. Add sifted flour and cinnamon and ground almonds, mix until combined. Turn mixture out on to lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes.

4. Place dough into large bowl, cover with clean cloth, stand in warm place for 1 hour 15 minutes or until dough doubles in bulk. Punch dough down, turn out onto floured surface, knead well until dough is smooth and elastic.

5. Cut dough into 2 equal pieces, cut each piece into five, making 10 buns in all. Knead each into a round shape. Put buns on lightly greased oven tray, allowing ample space in between each bun for spreading.

6. Stand buns in warm place 15 to 20 minutes, until buns double in bulk. Brush top of buns with lightly beaten extra egg. Bake in moderately hot oven for 12 minutes or until cooked, allow to cool on a wire rack.

7. With fine pointed knife, cut a triangular piece from top of buns. Fill cavity with almond paste. Pipe whipped cream decoratively over top. Place triangular tops on cream. Dust with sifted icing sugar.

2 Eggs
10 g Sugar
20 g Poppy Seeds
20 g Seasme Seeds
50 g Butter
470 g Plain Flour
Salt to taste
230 ml Milk

1. Mix all ingredients together until elastic.

2. Rest for 20 minutes.

3. Roll till 1 mm thick.

4. Bake in an oven at 180 °C until golden brown.

5. Cool on wire racks.

3 KG Strong White Flour
50 g Salt
1.8 kg (1.8 lt) Water
100 g Yeast
20 g Bread Improver
150 g Butter

1. Weigh out all ingredients separately. (Including water).

2. Place flour and bread improver into a large bowl or a food mixer, place bowl on the machine with dough hooks attached.

3. Check that the machine is set on the lowest speed and begin mixing.

4. Dissolve the yeast in 500 ml of the water, the add to the flour followed by the rest of the water.

5. When the flour has taken up the water and yeast add the shopped butter and salt.

6. Allow to mix/knead until dough is smooth, approx 10 minutes.

7. Remove the dough hook, move the bowl to a warm place (i.e. near the stove) and cover with a tray. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

8. Scale into required weight and form into desired shape. Place on abaking tray lined with silicon papper.
9. Allow to prove until double in size in a proving cabinet or covered with plastic sheets.

10. Bake in a hot oven until brown, approx 10 minutes. When cooked place on cooling racks.