I’ve been really busy these last few weeks that I almost forgot that Greek Easter was approaching this coming Sunday. Yes, “real life” tends to get like that sometimes. As my family is spread all over the place, I plan on taking it easy for the forthcoming celebrations. I wish I had more time to bake all the Greek Easter treats but that is not going to happen. I’ll dye the eggs and make my tsourekia and probably whip up a lamb roast for Easter Sunday. This year I decided to take a slightly “different” approach to my tsourekia. I turned them into hot cross buns! “Hot cross buns?” I hear you ask. Yes. Why? Because I wanted to take an unconventional approach and experiment a little. You see, I love hot cross buns and I like tsoureki. So, why not combine the two? I realise this might irk some people and it really is not very Greek, but I think the experiment turned out great.
The brioche like taste and texture of tsoureki works perfectly in a smaller version. I made a whole batch of these and after the usual distribution to the neighbours and friends I froze the remainder. Even though they taste better straight out of the oven (with lashings of butter), I like whipping one into the microwave and enjoying it with a coffee for breakfast. I used the same recipe as I did last year to make these with a little variation. The original tsoureki recipe can be found here. The changes I made included to use 100-150 grams less flour, I added one and a half cups of sultanas and two heaped teaspoons of ground cinnamon. The other addition was to make the paste to form the crosses. This was a combination of flour and water made into a thick paste and piped onto the buns before they were cooked in a pre heated 200 deg C oven for about 20 mins.
I hope you enjoyed my take on tsoureki this year. Like I said earlier, this is not traditional but a very experimental idea I wanted to work with.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
These Hot Cross Buns look terrific! Very tempting and so smooth! I love the last shot; great composition!
Cheers,
Rosa
These look amazing Peter! I always wonder why those crosses don’t brown… Probably stupid but it’s a kind of dough if you make it with flour and water right, so shouldn’t it also brown in the oven… Anyway; I don’t know tsoureki, but these sure look delicious and the photos are lovely! The black and white photos are also great!
You’ll be surprised to read that I never eaten a Hot Cross Bun. They look terrific.
I just baked the Velikonocni Kruhki & I was reading about tsoureki while reading about the types easter breads. Lovely combination! They look so pure & white. I guess the sides did not get exposed to the direct heat & they stay white, is that how?
These look delicious! And, now I want to try tsoureki.
Peter, they look wonderful…I hope they tasted as good as they look. Kali Anastasi, have a wonderful Easter and we’ll chat on the other side of the holiday.
Great idea adding sultanas. Bread is the few places I actually appreciate them in. Seeing these is giving me a serious carb craving.
these looks fantastic. i’ve always meant to try making hot cross buns, but the greek version sounds even better.
Your version looks yummier than the traditional ones…i wonder if a chocolate chip version would work…there’s only one way to find out…off to the kitchen i am!
These buns look so tasty !
))))
I’ll cook them for Russian Easter which is this Sunday as well
one a penny two a penny, will you send me some?
they look lovely!
oh my god, i’m completely hooked – i think i’m making these tonight with my own recipe
i adore hot cross buns
would you believe, i havent even seen a SINGLE hot cross bun in hania these days – it’s all tsourekia and koulourakia all over the place
dreadfully tempting and delicious looking, fusion-style cooking, bravo
I like the way you’ve mixed tradition here. Nice photos too!
gorgeous peter! love the twist!
These are awesome Peter. I love your unconventional approach and I find this to be a most inspired recipe! Nice job all around!
One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross buns. Those are so elegant, and a lovely way to start the Easter holiday celebrations, Peter!
What an awesome idea, Peter! They look absolutely amazing! I wish you were my neighbor.
Well, assuming you are a person who would gift baked goods to his neighbors, which I think you are. 
Great recipe Peter–definitely one I’m willing to try! It’s a nice twist to this Greek tradition. Kali Anastasi Peter and have a wonderful Easter holiday!
and i just did try it – the hot cross buns bought back memories of nz (once again, as most of your posts do from down under)
Beautiful! I’m not a fan of hot cross buns, but I love, love love brioche (which I assume is similar to tsoureki). These look light and fluffy and so good!
I love your take on the traditional Peter. I would be all about experimenting:D
I absolutely love this, I also tend to mish mash different cultural habits on festive events… so I totally get you!! Lovely work, I think I will give this a try even though Easter has gone by now!
Are you becoming the Ferràn Adrià of the bloggers? He, he! Experimenting and trying new things in the kitchen is fun and when the result is good then is awesome!!!!
Your little Hot cross buns look fantastic
. I wish we could share some in front a cup of coffee ;D