sweet spiced buns with currants

The aroma and mystery of hot cross buns mesmerized me during childhood, and just once a year I’d dig into my mother’s tattered and worn cookbooks, pull out her mixing bowls, and work my way through flour, eggs, and currants until I’d satisfied my want. Though I only occasionally grace these spiced buns with a cross, I still make them once a year out of habit, toward the spring equinox, when I can use the last of winter’s oranges and the first of spring’s eggs. These days I spice them with orange, cardamom, cloves, and allspice, adding in a scoop of unrefined sugar to alleviate their sourness. I often serve them with breakfast, or with tea in the late afternoon.

MAKES: ABOUT 1 DOZEN LARGE BUNS

INGREDIENTS:

DOUGH

• 1½ cups proofed and bubbly sourdough starter
• 3½ cups bread flour, high-extraction wheat flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for working the dough
• 3¾ cups whole grain spelt flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup unrefined cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely ground unrefined sea salt
• 1½ teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• 1 cup dried currants
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing

GLAZE

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To make the dough, beat together the sourdough starter and flours in a large mixing bowl, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 8 to 12 hours. Punch down the dough and form a well at its center.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until smooth, light, and uniform in texture. Beat in the salt, allspice, cardamom, cloves, and orange zest. Pour the egg mixture into the well at the center of the sourdough starter and flour mixture. Beat to form a smooth, wet batter. Fold in the currants.
3. Generously flour your work surface, then turn out the dough onto the surface. Knead the dough well, incorporating enough flour to form a smooth, elastic dough, about 15 minutes. Let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes, and then knead for 5 minutes longer. Form the dough into a large ball.
4. Rub a large mixing bowl with olive oil, then place the ball of dough in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 4 hours.
5. Dust a baking sheet with flour. Once the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and tear off pieces by the handful, forming the dough into about a dozen balls, each 2 to 3 inches in diameter.
6. Place the balls on the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Let the buns rise, covered, for another 45 minutes, until puffed.
7. About 20 minutes before you plan to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F.
8. To make the glaze, in a small bowl, beat the egg, then whisk in the honey and water. Paint the buns with the glaze. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the buns are dark brown and deeply fragrant. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool. You can serve the buns barely warm with butter, or allow them to cool to room temperature