Hot Cross Buns

I love making Hot Cross Buns - it is like therapy - I  think!!!
I love the actual making of them, the smell in the kitchen...well the whole house and the taste!!
The recipe I use is a combination of a couple with a couple of amendments.

Ingredients for the Buns - remember these measurements are in Australian cups and Tablespoons/teaspoons

40gms Butter
300mls Warm Water - 1/3 boiling and 2/3 cold
1/4 cup Quick Oats
3 cups Bread Flour
1 Tablespoon Yeast - I use instant dried - but I keep it in the freezer
2 teaspoons Bread improver
1 teaspoon Salt
I teaspoon Sugar
3 teaspoons Cinnamon - depends on your taste - some recipes suggest only a 1/2teaspoon
2 teaspoons Mixed Spice - again depends on your taste BUT add at least One!
2 Tablespoons Skimmed Milk Powder
1/2 cup Sultanas
1/2 cup Cranberries
1 Egg - beaten
1/2 teaspoon oil

Piping Mixture

3 Tablespoons Plain Flour
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Water

Bun Glaze

1 Egg
1/4 cup Caster Sugar
1/4 cup Water

Method - Making the buns

1. Melt the butter in 100mls of the water in a small saucepan, take of the heat and add the oats, stir and allow them to sit until the rest of the ingredients are ready
2. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large bowl - I use a plastic one - add the sultanas and the cranberries.
3. Add the butter, oats and water mixture, then the beaten egg and the oil and most the remaining water - work well with a metal spoon it will come together - you probably will require most of the water.
4. Cover the bowl with some cling film/plastic wrap and then a tea towel and leave some where warm until the mixture has doubled in size - I leave it on my kitchen workbench away from any draughts, it usually takes about an hour.
5. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly.
6. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces and then knead and shape then into buns, place into the baking tin and again prove until they have doubled in size.
7. Mix up the glaze and brush all the buns.
8. Mix up the piping mix put it into a piping bag and put crosses on the tops - use a small nozzle or cut a small hole in a plastic piping bag.
9. Preheat your oven to 200'C and bake for 20minutes - if you feel they are getting to brown on top reduce the oven temperature to 180'C after 10 minutes

 All the dry ingredients are in.

Careful measuring is really important.

Bread Flour has a higher Protein content and therefore it contents more Gluten - better for bread making.

Yeast when combined with a food source, warmth and oxygen begins to grow and reproduce. As it grows it produces Carbon Dioxide - basically making your bread rise!

Salt is needed to strength the gluten, it also controls the action of the yeast by slowing it down and allowing the dough to rise in a controlled and even way, it flavours the dough. Too little salt means the bread will become stale quicker and too much will give the loaf a hard crust. The ratio of salt is 2% of the weigh of the flour. Don't place it directly on top of your yeast.

Sugar, traditional was added to help activate the yeast, although modern yeasts do not really need sugar many bakers prefer still to add it. Also it flavours a sweet bread, honey can also be used.

Improver, helps to give your bread a lighter texture and better keeping qualities.

Oil and Butter add to the flavour of your bread, retain moisture and therefore help the keeping qualities, but too much may inhibit the activity of the yeast.
Egg helps give the mixture an added richness.

 I like a mixture of sultanas and cranberries - but it is up to you, mixed dried fruit is also good.

About a cup is the maximum - you don't need to add any fruit.

 Adding the butter, oats and water mix - make sure it isn't too hot or you will kill the yeast.

Then the rest of the water - if the water is too cold the yeast will just take longer to work - so your bread will take longer to prove/rise.

Well mixed - now cover with cling film/plastic wrap and a tea towel.

 When the dough has doubled in size your are ready to start kneading - this usually takes about an hour.

 This dough does not require a long kneading time - I usually knead for about 3 minutes.
Kneading the dough develops the gluten strands and increases the elasticity of the dough, this process also traps air, so when the dough is baked the gluten rises, giving the end product its shape and structure. 

 Equally divide into 12 pieces - I judge by eye that they are even - unless you are getting ready for Great British Bake Off then you better weigh!!!ch one

 Perfect tin - 12" by 8" with sides.
You can use an oven tray but the buns don't tend to rise as well as they want to go out the way too - bit like my waist line at Easter!!

Give so the joint is at the bottom and they are smooth on the top.

Space evenly in the tin and allow to prove again - they should all be touching - takes about 10 - 30 minutes.

 Glaze

Then pipe lines on - one way -then the other!!!

Ready to Bake - 200'C for 20 minutes, as I said if you feel they are getting dark or if your oven is a bit fierce reduce the heat to 180'C after 10 minutes.

The ones in the middle are Chocolate and Cranberry - same ingredients as before BUT I took out the sultanas and added 1/2 cup of chopped Dark Cooking Chocolate, only put in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and added 2 Tablespoons of Cocoa.

Scottie Dog Table Mats - Tutorial

And now to make some new table mats  - to give as a wee pressie!

I have made many different things using my usual scottie dog template - but I decided to look for a new template - google image search!!! mysofttoycorner.blogspot.com had the perfect template.
Templates cut - fabric selected - ready to start!!!

I cut the template in a few different sizes - ironed the fabric pieces onto some Vliesofix then cut them out. The Vliesofix is great for fixing fabric in place for applique.

Then the wee dogs were ironed on to some white 'Homespun' 100% Cotton - mine were 11 & 1/2" by 14 & 1/2".

 



 

After ironing on the templates the dogs were blanket stitched on - I used my sewing machine or they could be done by hand. Small pieces of ribbon were also added as collars, and blanket stitched on.

Then 2 & 1/2" strips were cut, firstly sewn onto the sides then the top and bottom.

Remember to iron your seams outwards - that way you can't see them through the white cotton.

So per mat 2 strips 2 & 1/2" x 11 & 1/2" and then 2 strips 2 & 1/2" x 20".  

 

  

Then place the front and back pieces right sides together, then the wadding on top of the backing piece - both of these were cut bigger that the front piece.

 

 

Then machine stitch 1/2" in from the edge of the front piece, leaving a 4" gap at the centre in the bottom edge. 



Then trim the excess and cut the corners - being careful not to cut the stitching. Then turn the mat the right way round, pushing the corners out to make them as sharp as possible, fold in the gap in, pin and iron.

 Then starting from one of the bottom corners machine around 1/4" from the edge.

 Iron again...finished!!!

 

 

 

 

 





 







 





 

 



 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I love Crochet!!

I learned to crochet about 15 months ago ...and I love it!!!
Here a few pictures of some blankets I have made.
P.S. I have got another one on the go....

First ever project!

Made for my wee cousin's beautiful baby boy - inspiration from 'The Jools Oliver 'Little Birdy range'

Happy Easter Hen

Found this lovely crochet last week, ordered it and could not wait to start it ....and finish it!!
The blog is 'Magic with hook and needles' and the designer is Vendula Maderska, her patterns are gorgeous, colourful and very creative. English is not her first language, and there was a few occasions that I need to rip out and start again, but most of that was due to my lack of crochet expertise and some terminology I was not familiar with. Vendula has nice clear photographs, although I am still struggling with the difference between British and American terminology - Universal Crochet language required!

Another of this ladies lovely patterns.

With these little birds I only increased one stitch in the increase row.

And I now always use a magic ring/circle intead of a chain and a slip stitch where possible.

In the yellow birdie - well I am calling it a chicken - I did all the increases.

 

Happy Easter!!

Living Room

 

During the Christmas Holiday we decorated our living room, this is the room at the back of the house which is a great room for closing the doors and watching TV!
We painted the walls, two lovely greens, a feature wall which was the darker colour - I love green! And replace the very worn and shabby carpet - with a very neutral beige, and then I made curtains for the first time following the fantastic instructions on the www.wereinstitches.co.uk web site.
But the best bit was making a quilt and cushions out of this gorgeous patterned fabric.
I bought this fabric in Spotlight quite a while ago, orginally as a 5 piece fat quarter set, called 'Mellow Pear' just because I just liked it! How many times have I bought fabric just because I like it or NEED to have it!!!!!
Thankfully, a few months later, I was able to find some of the design and buy another few metres, then I team it up with some lime green and bright pink. I love applique and the pears provided the inspiration.