Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Add Hot Cross Bun Spice, salt, sugar, yeast and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat, add butter and orange peel. Once butter has melted, set aside to cool.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the milk mixture. Add the beaten egg and mix well, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients to form a dough. Add in dried fruit.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth and no longer sticky. Slightly adjust the mixture if it is too dry/wet with milk/flour. To test if the dough is ready, take a small piece and roll it into a ball, then stretch it out gently with your fingers. The dough should stretch without tearing and you should be able to stretch it until it forms a thin, translucent film, without having any thick spots or tears.
Place the dough in a lightly buttered bowl and cover it with a tea towel, then leave it in a warm area for 1 hr or until it has doubled in size.
Return the dough to a lightly floured surface and and punch down the dough to remove excess air. Cut it into 16 equal portions and roll each portion into balls.
Place the buns close together onto a baking tray, lined with compostable baking paper. Cover with a tea towel and let them rise for a further hour. Preheat the oven to 220˚C (conventional).
In the meantime, make the mixture for the crosses. Mix flour and water into a smooth, thick paste (the consistency should be that of thick honey). You can lightly colour the mixture, creating pretty pastel yellow or pink stripes (or a combination), which look lovely. If doing both colours, split the mixture before colouring and add 1 drop of food colour per half. At this stage, preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the mixture for the crosses into a piping bag, and pipe onto the buns.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the buns are browning on top.
While the buns are baking, make the glaze by adding the glaze ingredients to a small pot and bringing them to a boil. Simmer until the syrup thickens (if you are using a candy thermometer, aim for a temperature of about 110 ˚C ). Lightly brush this over the hot cross buns while still piping hot and serve immediately.
