Easter, a time for rest.

At Plyroom we’ve been tied up in both a professional and personal capacity these past few weeks.

This weekend Elise traversed the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker through the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley.
Having just returned from New Zealand Robyn has been preoccupied with home renovation, and Sophie is currently driving the 18 hours from Melbourne to Brisbane to visit family.

Though enjoyable, these commitments have also been wearying.
Needless to say, the long weekend ahead is a welcome break.

Whether Easter is a moment of devotion or simply an excuse for some much-needed downtime, we hope you have a restful break with your friends and family.

Elise and the Plyroom Team x

Shop the story

Inspired by the arrival of Cultiver Linen at our Northcote studio, a cool change in weather and the allure of long-weekend sleep-ins, we styled this bedroom to evoke rest, comfort and calm.  

Items clockwise from top left: Plyroom Oh Side Table; Slow by Brooke McAllary; Ghostwares Pink Bud Vase; Plyroom Flat Out Queen Bed; Cultiver Linen Euro Pillows in Natural; Cultiver Linen Duvet Cover Set in Olive.

Sourdough Hot Cross Buns

This Easter the only Hot Cross Buns we'll be devouring are freshly baked from the beautiful cook book Ostro by Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Julia contributed her recipe for Custard Tart with Poached White Peaches & Raspberries in our zine, and she kindly gave us permission to share the recipe. 

1. The night before you want to bake the buns, make the preferment. Mix the milk, flour and starter in a large bowl until smooth. Cover with a tea-towel and leave at room temperature overnight (approx 12 hours). 

2. In the morning, your sponge should be visibly bubbly and grown by about 20%. 

3. Soak the fruit in the marsala and boiling water. Set aside for 30 minutes and drain. 

4. For the dough, add all of the dry ingredients to the sponge and mix well. Add the fruit and cooled melted butter. Knead in the bowl until well incorporated. Continue to knead for about 5 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Knead mixture again in the bowl for a few minutes. Cover bowl with a tea towel.

5. Now leave the dough to undergo the bulk fermentation for 3-4 hours. Every half an hour, fold and turn the dough in the bowl, being gentle in the last few hours as you want to avoid knocking out the air. If it's a warm day, this timing should be just right, however on a cooler day, you may need to leave the dough for longer, maybe turning every hour.

6. Divide dough into either 9 (approx 145g each) or 12 (approx 100g each) buns. Shape into buns and arrange in a tin, greased with butter. Now you can either leave on the bench to prove for 2-3 hours or put in the fridge overnight and bake the next morning. If you leave them in the fridge overnight, allow them to sit at room temperature on the bench for 2 hours before baking.

7. Preheat oven to 200C.

8. For the crosses, mix the flour, water and oil in a small bowl. The mixture should be thick but have some viscosity so you can pipe it. Put into a piping bag with a small nozzle, or alternatively into a snap-lock bag and snip the end. 

9. Brush tops of buns with milk and pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and risen. 

8. For the glaze, combine the sugar, water and cinnamon in a small pan and on a low heat, simmer until dissolved and slightly syrupy. If the bubbles become to big, the sugar has gone too far and you may need to add a little water. Mine was a little to syrupy and hardened on the buns, which isn't dire, but isn't exactly what you're looking for! Brush the warm buns with the syrup and serve, with butter, of course! 


Original imagery and recipe can be found here.