Lemon Poppyseed Hot Cross Buns

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to get bubbly/frothy. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine 1 egg, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, yeasted milk and 240g/2 cups of flour. Mix until well combined. Add the rest of the flour, lemon zest and the poppyseeds and knead with a dough hook attachment for about 5-7 minutes. Take the dough out of the bowl and rub the bowl with vegetable oil, then return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let it rise for 1 hour to 1.5 hours in a warm place until it doubles in volume. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Take the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and divide into 12 equal parts. (You might want to weigh them to ensure they are all the same but eyeballing is also fine.) Roll into balls and place into a well-buttered 23x33cm/9×13 inch baking pan. Cover with a tea towel and let them rise one more time for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the paste for the crosses. Combine the flour with the milk or water in a small bowl, mix until smooth, then pour into a piping bag or a small sandwich bag.

Once the buns have risen the second time, pipe the crosses. With scissors snip a small opening in your piping bag and pipe crosses on the buns. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until golden and sound hollow when you tap on the surface of a bun.

While the buns are in the oven combine the icing sugar with the lemon juice and mix until the sugar dissolves, then add the honey and vanilla.

Take the buns out of the oven and carefully turn then over on a cooling rack. Glaze immediately while still hot. This way they will absorb the sugar glaze. Making sure you put several coats of glaze on them.