Date and Ginger Hot X Buns...

I tried out this easter recipe from Jamie Oliver's website, adding my own flair and flavours to it to make it a family favorite!

For a more traditional hot cross bun, read more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/hot-cross-buns/#lEz84oLjuoMx0uUg.97

But this is how I made my fluffy and sweet little hot cross buns:

Ingredients...

200ml Milk

14g dried yeast

455 g strong bread flour , save some extra for dusting

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons mixed spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

55 g caster sugar

100g of coarsely chopped crystalised or naked ginger

100g of coarsely chopped dates

1 large free range egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons plain flour

55 g unsalted butter

Method...

1. Wake up nice and early on easter morning... 
2. Now bring the milk and 50mL of water to a gentle simmer in a saucepan, It should be warm to the touch. Add this to a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast.
3. Melt the butter separately in the microwave.
4. Sift the strong bread flour into a large bowl adding the salt spices and sugar as you go.
5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the butter, followed by the yeast mixture and lightly beaten egg.
6. Using a knife, mix it all together until a rough dough forms, then scoop it out onto a floured kitchen bench surface.
7. Stretch and knead the dough with your hands until it comes together nicely like play dough!
8. Place the dough ball back into a flour dusted bowl and find a nice warm place for it to rise for 1-2 hrs, try the same room as the fire place if its a particularly chilly morning! You just want it to double in size, then its ready for the next part!

1. Preheat your oven to 190oC and line a walled baking tray with baking paper.
2. Plop the dough out onto your freshly floured kitchen bench again and smack it a few times to knock some air out of it.
3. Pile on the ginger and date pieces and knead them all through the dough.
4. Halve the dough, and halve those pieces again, continuing until you have 12 even pieces to roll into tight balls. Evenly space the balls in the baking tray, it doesn't matter if they are not quite touching yet.
5. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for half an hour.

1. When the balls are puffy and touching one another, mix the remaining flour and 2 Tablespoons of water together until smooth and transfer to a piping bag.
2. Pipe lines all the way across the centre of each bun vertically and then horizontally to make a cross on each one.

Cook for 15-20 minutes in the oven, until the tops have browned and the crosses have hardened. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Serve them immediately to the waking household for breakfast, it will make for a memorable morning together xxx

Indoor Stag...

This DIY had been a dream in the pipe-line for quite a few months, until we finally salvaged a little stag in the rainforest from our families property in Northern NSW.

When we brought it home I took a piece of firewood and wrapped the fern around it to resemble a tree trunk. I used fine wire to  hold it in place and wrapped it around multiple times to keep it nice and secure.

Eventually a new leaf will grow over the wire and make it look like it has naturally formed on the trunk.

I went and bought a piece of plywood (12mm thick) from the local hardware store, measured and cut it to size, then spray painted it black.

Note: Contrary to practical belief, wood should not be left to dry in the sun because it bows #findingoutthehardway 

After the paint dried I attached the stag-horn fern to the plywood with some long screws through the back and into the tree trunk.

It's has become a perfect little indoor pet, and I only have to water it with a spray bottle every second day!