I was wondering if anyone else's hot cross buns turn out much denser that the shop bought ones?
I've made 2 batches last year, with first ones being a complete disaster and Second batch being better although I still made some mistakes.
This year they were much better again, they were soft enough to be torn by hand when they first came out, but today they've gone quite hard on the outside although still pretty nice toasted with butter. But even yesterday they were still quite dense, more like bagels rather than the soft squishy kind you get from supermarket. Or is that something I would never achieve at home?
I let the dough double in size, but I think my biggest struggle is when you are trying to incorporate all the dried fruit, the dough got really soggy again, and I foolishly thought if I just knead it long enough it will come together again, but obviously wasn't possible with all the fruit. Once I started adding more flour to the surface and on my hands, it started to come together again, but I wonder if I've over kneaded it at that point? The buns did give a good second rise after I shaped them though. I also put a tray of water in the oven.
Sorry it turned out a bit long but thanks for reading!