Alan’s v2 Hot Cross Buns – Slooooow Cooking

Is this what slow cooking is all about? Because man! did these take absolutely ages to make!

Alan’s first version this year didn’t produce a particularly good result. He thinks the yeast was too hot to strut its stuff. Those ones resulted in a heavy, solid, bun.

So he went looking for a different recipe and found Chelsea Winter’s. He especially liked the way she explained why she does what she does with her instructions.

Started on Easter Sunday

These buns were first started on Easter Sunday afternoon. We got to eat them as “brunch” on Easter Monday before Alan headed away on a double overnight.

Although Alan did all the heavy lifting work (kneading) I was on hand to scrape the wet sticky dough into the ball he was kneading. It was a team effort. And a blessing we had the pizza paddles to double-duty as dough scrapers!

180^o variance

These buns sat 180^o opposite where the first batch turned out. In other words, they were yummy! Light. Tasty. A dream to eat.

Time-wise – I think they each took about 3-4 hours of “proofing” (when the yeast is rising in the dough).

I wonder whether the science involved with yeast cooking has possibly sparked a bit of interest with My Hero as I mentioned to him maybe he can make our next batch of pizza dough and he didn’t object.

The How and the Why

I know enough about My Hero to know that he needs to understand the how and, to some degree, the why of things.

When I first brought a new breadmaker home, centuries ago, Alan spent all afternoon – hours! – working out how the fruit and nut dispenser worked. Apparently, there was a magnet that got triggered at a set time / point in a menu’s cycle. [who knew…?]

For me, I just need to know that it did work. As I keep saying to him – when I turn the key of my car, I just need to know it will start. I don’t need to know about all the squillions of steps taking place under the bonnet to make that happen.

When he gives me that look I just tell him I have other things taking up the space that that information would take up in my head; I don’t need to know that because I know other things.

Teamwork – he knows things. I know things. Some of those things overlap. Those that don’t slot in with those that do. Two halves making a whole.

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Here’s to slow cooking…

Here’s to teamwork with My Hero…

Here’s to stitching another thread into the tapestry of my Ordinary married life to make it Extra-Ordinary.

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Here’s to SmilingOnTheInside!