Sticky hot cross brioche loaf
Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Tara Fisher
Sticky hot cross brioche loaf
Recipe by John Whaite
Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
352Kcal
Fat
19gr
Saturates
9gr
Carbs
39gr
Sugars
14gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
8gr
Salt
0.6gr
John Whaite
John Whaite is a British food writer, television presenter and cookery school owner. He won series three of The Great British Bake Off and has released several cookbooks.
John Whaite
John Whaite is a British food writer, television presenter and cookery school owner. He won series three of The Great British Bake Off and has released several cookbooks.
Ingredients
- 300g strong white bread flour, plus a little extra for kneading
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp mixed spice
- 7g fast-action yeast
- 1 tsp table salt
- 50g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- about 20ml whole milk
- seeds from 1 vanilla pod, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Sicilian lemon extract, or zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tsp Valencian orange extract, or zest of 2 oranges
- 150g really soft unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 50g dried apple rings, finely chopped
- 50g blanched hazelnuts, finely chopped
- 50g prunes, finely chopped
- 50g raisins
For the topping:
- 1 egg, beaten, to glaze
- 50g plain flour
- 50ml water
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the dough up to the end of step 2 up to a day ahead, chill, and prepare the filling ingredients too. The cooked loaf freezes well.
- Place the flour, spices and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, and stir together. Add the salt and sugar, and stir. In a measuring jug, beat the eggs, then add enough milk to bring the total liquid to 200ml. Add the vanilla and the extracts or zest, then pour into the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes on medium speed.
- Work in the butter a tablespoonful at a time. When the butter is well incorporated and the mixture is silky and smooth, continue kneading for 5 minutes, then place on to a greased baking tray. Wrap tightly in a few layers of clingfilm and chill for 12 hours or overnight.
-
In a bowl, mix the filling ingredients together. Remove the dough from the fridge and dust the worktop with flour. Knead the dough by hand until it is more malleable, then flatten into a large disk and add a third of the filling to the centre. Wrap the dough around the filling like a parcel; gently knead again until the filling is as evenly dispersed through the dough as possible. Repeat twice with the rest of the filling.TipBrioche has a higher butter content than most doughs – this makes it stickier to work with, but guarantees a perfect result.
- Roll the dough into a tight sausage, and place into a greased and lined 11cm x 21cm x 7.5cm deep loaf tin, pushing the dough into the corners of the tin. Cover with lightly buttered clingfilm and rest the dough for up to 4 hours, or until doubled in size.
- When the dough has proved, preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Lightly glaze the top of the loaf with the beaten egg. In a small bowl, beat the flour and water together to a thick paste. Put this into a piping bag (I use a disposable one) and snip off a little of the end to create a small hole. Pipe one long line down the centre of the length of the loaf, then 8-10 small lines across the width of the loaf.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4, and bake for a further 20-25 minutes. Cover the loaf with foil after 30 minutes or so if it is over-browning. When gloriously golden and shiny, remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool completely.
