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Yummy hot cross bun recipe for your Easter Celebration. Available for both manual method and bread machine method. Enjoy.

Source: canada.com

Dough
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour, divided
1 (8 g) package quick-rise instant yeast (Fleischmann’s)
3 tablespoons (45 mL) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1½ teaspoons (7 mL) ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon (4 mL) ground allspice
¾ teaspoon (4 mL) ground nutmeg
⅓ cup (75 mL) currants or raisins
⅓ cup (75 mL) diced candied mixed fruit or peel
1 cup (250 mL) milk (2 per cent M.F.)
¼ cup (50 mL) plus 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
3 tablespoons (45 mL) butter
1 tablespoon (15 mL) potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)

Egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
Icing
1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar
½ teaspoon (2 mL) pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15 mL) milk (2 per cent M.F.), about

Dough (traditional method):
In large bowl, combine 1 cup (250 mL) flour, yeast, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; stir to mix. Stir in currants and candied fruit.

In small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 F to 130 F). Whisk in potato flakes; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in enough of the remaining 2 cups (500 mL) flour to make a soft dough that doesn’t stick to the bowl.

Turn dough out on to floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, working in additional flour as needed, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Dough (bread machine method):
Substitute 2 teaspoons (10 mL) bread machine yeast for the 1 (8 g) package quick-rise instant yeast.

The milk, water and butter should be at room temperature. The butter should be cut into small pieces.

Put milk, water, butter, salt, flour, potato flakes, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, granulated sugar and yeast in bread pan in the order recommended by the machine’s manufacturer. Insert pan in oven chamber. Select dough/manual cycle.

When cycle is complete, transfer dough to lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead in currants and candied fruit. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.

To shape dough: Divide dough into 9 equal pieces. Form each piece into a smooth ball, pinching at bottom to seal; place, seam side down, in greased 81/2-inch (21 cm) square baking pan. Flatten buns slightly. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until double in size, about 30 minutes.

Egg Wash:
Lightly beat together egg yolk and water; brush over buns.

Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 30 minutes or until baked, covering loosely with foil after 20 minutes to prevent excess browning. Remove buns from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Icing: In small bowl, mix icing sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make icing of piping consistency. Pipe or spoon icing in form of a cross on each bun.

Makes 9 buns.

Approximate nutritional analysis for each bun: 296 cal, 6 g pro, 5 g fat, 57 g carb.

TIPS

For traditional method:

- In case you buy dried yeast in jars, 1 (8 g) package quick-rise instant yeast (Fleischmann’s) yields 21/4 teaspoons (11 mL) yeast.

For bread machine:

- To take the chill off milk, microwave on High for about 20 seconds.

- Bread machine dough is slightly softer than hand-made dough. If dough is not of the right consistency, add extra flour or liquid. Check dough after machine has been running for a few minutes — it should form a soft ball around the blade. If dough seems sticky, add more flour, 1 teaspoon (5 mL) at a time, until it has a smooth, soft texture. If dough is too dry, add more liquid, 1 teaspoon (5 mL) at a time, until dough is softer. Your shouldn’t add more than 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 mL) of flour or liquid.

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This winter semester, we had 9 final exams. *sigh* Well, I guess it’s better than the 10 final exams last semester. I’ve finished two of the finals already. The final for Dentistry Ethics was done like 1 months ago. The final for Dental Implant was finished last Wesdnesday. Seven more exams to go: Pediatrics, Oral Surgery (this is the BIG final), Fixed Prosthodontics, Practice Management in Dentistry, Oral Radiology, Geriatrics, and Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

But … … … I have no mood studying at all. I wonder if someone can cure my procrastination. God please help me.

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Happy Easter & Egg Hunting !!!

To send this Happy Easter greeting ecard, click “Email This Article” below.

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Bad breath is everywhere: home, school and office, yet it remains the proverbial 2,000-pound gorilla unacknowledged in the room.

Billions of dollars are spent on toothpaste, mouthwash, mints and gums to mask or extinguish this social plague, which claims 12-year-olds, menopausal women and octogenarians among its victims. But don’t expect the subject to come up in conversation.

… … …

Katz, with dental and bacteriology degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, has turned a family emergency into a successful second career, trying to sweeten the smell of the planet one mouth at a time. After working in the 1990s with chemical giant DuPont to perfect an oral rinse and toothpaste to attack the main cause of bad breath sulphur-producing bacteria in the mouth the TheraBreath products are now available in Canada.

“It attacks the bacteria, which produce the sulphur compounds,'’ claimed Katz of clinical trials that repeatedly showed a 98 per cent elimination rate of the compounds.

Katz’ bad breath blitz began, ironically enough for a dentist, not with a patient, but when his then 13-year-daughter came home in tears after being told by schoolmates that her breath was bad.

source: canada.com

Mmm…interesting. Never heard of this product before…

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Whoa, that’s effective. I wonder if dentists will use this kind of tactics in pedo patient.
View this humorous Mother of The Year video clip..

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