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A new take on the classic hot cross buns is this soft and fluffy matcha-flavored hot cross bun loaf studded with craisins. The bread loaf stays soft for days thanks to the yudane used in this recipe.
Why you will love this
The hot cross bun loaf has nice matcha flavor, which I think pair so well with a sweet dough like this and the slightly tart craisins just belong there! Have I said that the crumb is soooo soft and airy? and it stays soft for days!!! thanks to the yudane!
Use high-quality instant yeast
I swear by this SAF Gold instant yeast for enriched bread dough recipes. It’s a game-changer. This yeast is strong and made for dough that has high sugar and high fat. It gives the loaf a really high rise, airy, and works quickly. The total flour used in this recipe is only 325 grams but it filled up my tall bread pan and beyond!!!! I usually couldn’t get a high rise like this if I use active dry yeast with that amount of dough.
How to bake matcha hot cross bun loaf using yudane
1. Prepare yudane: Measure out 65 gr bread flour in a heat-proof bowl. Place this on top of a kitchen scale. Bring water to a boil. I usually boil 15-20 grams extra than what I need to account for evaporation during boiling. When water comes to a boil, don’t turn it off yet, let it boil for another minute or two to make sure it reaches boiling temperature. Use a thermometer if you have one. I make sure it’s at least 212 F/100 C. Carefully but quickly pour the amount of boiling water you need into the flour and stir with a sturdy spatula until all the flour is hydrated by the hot boiling water. You will get a sticky dough. Let it cool down to about 122F/50 C. Wrap it with a cling wrap that I lightly sprayed with non-stick spray and let it sit on the counter if you will be using it in 4 hours later or in the fridge for the next day.
2. Prepare the dough: Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Roughly stir with the hook to combine. Add the milk and yudane. Start with the lowest speed and stir until it forms a rough dough ball. If it seems dry and won’t come together after 2-3 minutes of mixing, you can add a bit more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon. The amount of liquid may vary slightly depending on the flour and the humidity level. So you need to adjust accordingly
2. Increase the speed by one notch (speed 2 on KA) and knead for 6 minutes until the dough is smoother and flexible, it clear the side of the bowl, but not entirely clean and still stick to the bottom of the bowl. 
3. Add the softened butter, 1/3 at a time, about 2-3 minutes apart. The dough will turn into a slippery mess again. Just be patient and you need to stop the mixer a few times to reposition the dough and scrape the side of the bowl and start kneading again. Eventually, the dough will absorb the butter gradually. Once the butter has been absorbed, start the timer and knead on speed 4 for 5-6 minutes or until you reach a windowpane stage, meaning when you slowly stretch the dough thinly, it won’t break easily. Eventually it will break if you keep pulling, but the tear should have clean sharp edge too. The dough is done kneading here. 
4. The dough is very soft and sticky to touch
5. Add the craisins and knead on the lowest speed for 1 minute. DO NOT overknead or the gluten will break down and turn the dough into a sticky mess. The craisins won’t be evenly distributed yet. Don’t worry. They will be more evenly distributed during shaping
6. Lightly oil the bowl and let the dough proof in the bowl. I use SAF gold instant yeast and it took about 1 1/2 hours to double. If you use regular instant yeast, expect it to be even longer. It may take about 2 hours or longer
7. When you poke your finger into the dough, the indentation stays and never bounce back, the dough is done proofing
8. Divide the dough into 3 equal weights. Deflate the dough and round them up into dough balls. Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes
9. Work with one dough at a time. Gently roll it out using a rolling pin to about 6 x 4 inches rectangle. Fold the two sides over and roll it up tightly like a Swiss roll and then place it inside the loaf pan, seam side down. Continue with the rest of the dough and arrange them into the loaf pan
10. Mist the dough with some water . Cover the dough loosely with a cling wrap. Let it proof again until about 90% puffy, it may take somewhere from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature. When you gently press on the dough, it bounces back slowly. If it bounces back almost immediately, it needs a longer proofing time
*I had to leave the house for 15 minutes and when the dough almost reached 90%. I forgot to “park” it inside the refrigerator. I came back, the dough has risen like 2 inches above the rim. It’s a bit overproofed. You want it to proof to about 1/2 inch below the rim. The SAF gold instant yeast is really powerful!! Luckily the dough is quite strong and didn’t collapse during baking (phew….!)*
11. Prepare the cross paste by mixing the flour with water. Try not to overmix. Transfer to a plastic bag and cut off the tip. Pipe several crosses on the surface of the dough
12. Put the pan inside the oven, on the middle rack, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 190 F (88 C). Remove the loaf pan from the oven and put on top of a cooling rack. Immediately brush the top of the loaf with simple sugar syrup or a jam of your choice. It makes the loaf looks shiny. Let it cool down on a cooling rack completely
How to store
The bread can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days if it’s not humid. Simply store in air-tight container. If it’s humid where you are, I recommend keeping it in the freezer. Don’t keep it in the refrigerator as it dries out the bread. Once the bread loaf has cooled down completely, wrap it in a cling wrap and put it inside a freezer bag, push all the air out and seal. It can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. To reheat, simply thaw at room temperature and then you can warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up or mist it with some water, don’t soak the bread though, then reheat in a preheated oven at 350 F (180 C) for about 10 minutes
Did you make this matcha hot cross bun loaf using yudane recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
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Matcha Hot Cross Bun Loaf
Ingredients
Yudane:
- 65 g bread flour (12.7% protein content)
- 65 g hot boiling water
For the dough:
Dry ingredients:
- 255 gr bread flour (12.7% protein content)
- 10 gr matcha powder
- 5 gr SAF Gold instant yeast or instant yeast
- 6 gr salt
- 40 gr sugar
- 100 gr craisins
Wet ingredients:
- 100 g milk or more as needed
- 50 g butter softened
For the cross:
- 10 gr flour
- 15 gr water
Simple sugar glaze: (or use your favorite jam)
- 20 gr sugar
- 20 gr water
Instructions
- I use 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan. This pan is tall. You can also use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan
Prepare yudane:
- Measure out 65 gr bread flour in a heat-proof bowl. Place this on top of a kitchen scale. Bring water to a boil. I usually boil 15-20 grams extra than what I need to account for evaporation during boiling. When water comes to a boil, don’t turn it off yet, let it boil for another minute or two to make sure it reaches boiling temperature. Use a thermometer if you have one. I make sure it’s at least 212 F/100 C
- Carefully but quickly pour the amount of boiling water you need into the flour and stir with a sturdy spatula until all the flour is hydrated by the hot boiling water. You will get a sticky dough
- Let it cool down to about 122F/50 C. Wrap it with a cling wrap that I lightly sprayed with non-stick spray and let it sit on the counter if you will be using it in 4 hours later or in the fridge for the next day. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. The longer you rest the yudane, the better the quality of your bread
Prepare the dough:
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Roughly stir with the hook to combine. Add the milk. Start with the lowest speed and stir until it forms a rough dough ball. If it seems dry and won't come together after 2-3 minutes of mixing, you can add a bit more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon. The amount of liquid may vary slightly depending on the flour and the humidity level. So you need to adjust accordingly
- Increase the speed by one notch (speed 2 on KA) and knead for 6 minutes until the dough is smoother and flexible, it clear the side of the bowl, but not entirely clean and still stick to the bottom of the bowl. Add the softened butter, 1/3 at a time, about 2-3 minutes apart. The dough will turn into a slippery mess again. Just be patient and you need to stop the mixer a few times to reposition the dough and scrape the side of the bowl and start kneading again. Eventually, the dough will absorb the butter gradually. Once the butter has been absorbed, start the timer and knead on speed 4 for 5-6 minutes or until you reach a windowpane stage, meaning when you slowly stretch the dough thinly, it won't break easily. Eventually it will break if you keep pulling, but the tear should have clean sharp edge too. The dough is done kneading here. The dough is very soft and sticky to touch
- Add the craisins and knead on the lowest speed for 1 minute. DO NOT overknead or the gluten will break down and turn the dough into a sticky mess. The craisins won't be evenly distributed yet. Don't worry. They will be more evenly distributed during shaping
Bulk fermentation:
- Lightly oil the bowl and let the dough proof in the bowl. I use SAF gold instant yeast and it took about 1 1/2 hours to double. If you use regular instant yeast, expect it to be even longer. It may take about 2 hours or longer
- When you poke your finger into the dough, the indentation stays and never bounce back, the dough is done proofing
Shaping:
- Divide the dough into 3 equal weights. Deflate the dough and round them up into dough balls. Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes
- Work with one dough at a time. Gently roll it out using a rolling pin to about 6 x 4 inches rectangle. Fold the two sides over and roll it up tightly like a Swiss roll and then place it inside the loaf pan, seam side down. Continue with the rest of the dough and arrange them into the loaf pan
Final proofing:
- Mist the dough with some water . Cover the dough loosely with a cling wrap. Let it proof again until about 90% puffy, it may take somewhere from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature. When you gently press on the dough, it bounces back slowly. If it bounces back almost immediately, it needs a longer proofing time
- 10 minutes before the end of proofing time, preheat the oven at 375 F (190 C) for a conventional oven, 350 F (180 C) for convection oven
- Prepare the cross paste by mixing the flour with water. Try not to overmix. Transfer to a plastic bag and cut off the tip
- Pipe several crosses on the surface of the dough
Baking:
- Put the pan inside the oven, on the middle rack, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 190 F (88 C)
Cool down:
- Remove the loaf pan from the oven and put on top of a cooling rack. Immediately brush the top of the loaf with simple sugar syrup or a jam of your choice. It makes the loaf looks shiny. Let it cool down on a cooling rack completely
Serving:
- The bread can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days if it's not humid. Simply store in air-tight container. If it's humid where you are, I recommend keeping it in the freezer. Don't keep it in the refrigerator as it dries out the bread. Once the bread loaf has cooled down completely, wrap it in a cling wrap and put it inside a freezer bag, push all the air out and seal. It can be kept in the freezer for up to one month.
Reheating:
- Simply thaw at room temperature and then you can warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up or mist it with some water, don't soak the bread though, then reheat in a preheated oven at 350 F (180 C) for about 10 minutes
