I enjoy Hot Cross Buns and usually make a couple of different recipes each years. I buy extra citron during the holidays for the more traditional recipe. I also enjoy the dried cherry version. I'll just post my favorites so you can decide for yourself...which you might want to try. I have made all of these recipes. Hot Cross Buns: 1 cup (240 ml) milk 1 package (1/4 oz.) (7 grams) active dry yeast 1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar 3 1/2 - 4 cups (455 - 520 grams) all purpose flour 1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, melted 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/3 cup (80 ml) candied fruit and peel mix 1/3 cup (80 ml) currants (or raisins) Glaze: 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar 1 tablespoon milk or cream Hot Cross Buns: In a small saucepan, or in the microwave, heat the milk until lukewarm (about 100 degrees F or 38 degrees C). Add the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and stir to combine. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until the yeast is foamy. Meanwhile in the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, spices, and salt. Once the yeast is foamy, gradually add to the flour mixture and beat until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the melted butter and egg and beat until incorporated. With the mixer on medium low speed, with the dough hook, gradually add the candied and dried fruit and continue to knead the dough until it is silky smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough once, so the top is lightly greased. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until it has almost doubled in size (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down to release the air, and divide into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a small round ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (Place three buns to a row, four rows altogether. They should be spaced so they have enough room to double in size.) Make an egg wash of one beaten egg with 1 tablespoon milk, and brush the tops of the buns with the wash. Lightly spray a piece of plastic wrap with a nonstick cooking spray, and place lightly over the buns. Place in a warm spot until almost doubled in size (about 60 minutes). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash, and with clean kitchen shears (or a a sharp, lightly greased knife), cut a 'cross' in the top of each bun. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the buns are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. Glaze: Combine the confectioners sugar and milk and mix until smooth. Place the glaze in a paper cone or a small plastic bag. Cut the end of the cone or bag and pipe a 'cross' on the top of each bun. Makes 12 buns. http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/HotCrossBuns.html#ixzz1oCQc7kPD Traditional Hot Cross Buns (source unknown) serves 12 3 cups flour Note: I hold out about 1/2 C of this flour and add if dough seems too soft) 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. all spice 1/2 tsp. nutmeg cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup raisins 1/3 cup candied citron fruit Yeast Mixture: 1 Tbs. dry yeast 1 Tbs. sugar 2/3 cup warm milk 1/2 cup warm water 1 cup flour Glaze: 2 Tbs. milk 2 Tbs. water 3 Tbs. sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all yeast ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let it foam. Sift flour, salt, spice, and sugar in a second bowl. Add fruits and mix well. Mix butter, eggs and add to yeast mixture. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture. Knead dough on floured surface, 8\-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Divide into 12 equal pieces, shape into round buns. Place rolls close together in a baking pan. Cover and let rise at warm room temperature for 45 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut an X\-shape on the dough surface. Bake in oven at 425 degrees F for 15\-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack. Make glaze by bringing ingredients to boil in a saucepan for 2 minutes. Brush glaze over buns thickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hot Cross Buns with Dried Sour Cherries www ( ?? ) Yield: 16 buns For Buns: 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 cup milk 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves Grated zest of one lemon 1/4 cup warm water 2 packages (1/2 ounce or 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks 3 1/3 cups all\-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for kneading 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup dried sour cherries 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (I omit) Melted unsalted butter for pan and brushing 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk (glaze) For Icing: 1 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar 1 to 2 teaspoons milk, heated Buns: Combine 5 tablespoons of the sugar, the milk, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the warm water with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Whisk the whole egg, the egg yolks, and the yeast into the cooled milk. In another bowl, stir together the 3 1/3 cups flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, stirring until a sticky dough forms. Stir in the sour cherries and pistachios. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or countertop and knead until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with a little more flour. Transfer to a lightly buttered bowl and brush the surface with a little melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft\-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down and knead briefly. Re\-cover and let rise a second time, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down again and knead briefly. Divide into quarters and divide each quarter into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly buttered 9\-by\-13\-inch pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise a final time until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the buns with the egg glaze. Bake until golden brown and the buns sound hollow when rapped on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon warm milk in a bowl. Stir until smooth, adding another 1 teaspoon milk if needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Spoon into a pastry bag or a lock\-top sandwich bag, seal, and snip off the tip of one corner. Squeeze the icing from the bag, piping a cross over each cooled bun. Serve the buns at room temperature. Nancy

I made tsoureki, Greek Easter bread, last year using a recipe from RecipeZaar. It came out pretty good. I had to order the mahlepi online as Maureen indicated. I didn't use the masticha. I used to love buying Easter bread at a Greek store near the big Saint Sophia church in Los Angeles. This recipe produced a similar result. I'm going to make some more this evening. The only changes I would make is to not use too much flour as the dough can be a bit dry. Also, I found the bread browned too quickly. This time I'm going to watch it more carefully and either tent it with foil or lower the heat.

Sharon, I spent a lot of energy trying to figure out how to make fresh bread...Fresh...on the day I wanted it whenever I had a day in the kitchen like you're describing. After much experimenting, I realized there are two ways to accomplish this. 1. From dough that has risen once, formed into rolls and frozen. To make this happen, I put the frozen, formed rolls in a buttered pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze; let the pan of rolls rise overnight on the counter. (I've found the dough shouldn't rise for more than 8-12 hours, otherwise they can over-proof.) Bake in the morning. OR 2. From dough that has risen overnight in the fridge, having gone through the bread machine the night before. When I do it this way, I start my dough an hour before bedtime, so I can put the dough in the bread machine into a greased pan for the overnight rise in the fridge. The next morning you still have to form your rolls and allow time for another rise, but it works well if time permits. Either way, you'll have fresh bread and won't wear yourself out getting there. If time is really tight (OR I plan on drinking!), I actually prefer the frozen-overnight-on-the- counter-to-proof method. It doesn't seem to work if you leave your bread in the freezer too long, as I suspect it kills the yeast after a while. For just a few days of make-ahead prep time, however, it works really well. I hope you find it works for you, and you've discovered a new way to get fresh-baked to the table.

Hot Cross Buns and Greek Easter Bread come to mind, and Greek Easter Bread is a basic enriched Danish dough with anise flavoring or aniseed, and formed in a braid in a circle. #1. Find out how much the flour capacity is for your bread machine before using a non-bread machine recipe. For instance, my Zojirushi bread machines (V-20 and X-20) have a 5-cup capacity if I'm going to bake in it. The old Zojirushi S-15 had a 4-cup capacity. If I'm only use it to mix/knead the dough, I can use a larger amount of flour for a recipe - BUT - I take the dough out of the bread machine as soon as kneading is complete and proof it in a dough-rising bucket - NOT the bread machine. 2. As chas045 pointed out, check your dough. Check the condition of the dough during the first 5 minutes of kneading and adjust it for hydration at that time by adding more flour or adding more liquid - whatever is necessary - if the dough doesn't form a soft tacky ball. The amount of flour necessary for any bread recipe is just a good (or bad) guess. If the recipe called for high-gluten bread flour, and you used all-purpose flour, it would take more all-purpose flour (or less liquid) because of the lower gluten (protein) content in all-purpose flour. Gluten soaks hydration like a sponge, so you have to adjust to those differences if you switch from one flour type to another. 3. Do a search on-line for a bread machine recipe for "Easter bread" and try to locate one that is similar to what you are wanting to make and one that will work in your bread machine. Have a blessed Easter! -Grainlady