¾ cup ruby chocolate chips (can use white chocolate chips)
Olive oil (for rising)
For the Crosses:
½ cup flour
6-7 tablespoons water
For the Glaze:
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
1.5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
Add 4¼ cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until combined.
Add milk, butter, egg and orange zest and mix on low-medium speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 1-2 minutes. Add in strawberries and ruby chocolate chips and mix another 1-2 minutes until well combined. If needed, add a little extra flour, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is still tacky but doesn't stick too much to your fingers. Continue mixing dough on a low speech for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray. Place in a warm spot and allow to rise, about 1 to 1½ hours, until doubled in size.
After the first rise, punch down dough. Move dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a rough rectangle shape, then evenly divide into 12 pieces. Flatten each dough piece into a rough circle, then gather sides together to create a ball with a smooth top. You may need to roll the ball in your hand gently to create a uniform dough ball.
Line a 9x13 baking sheet or pan with parchment paper. Arrange the dough balls in the pan or baking sheet. They should be close to each other but have some room to rise. Cover again with a tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray. Return to a warm spot and let rise about 30-40 minutes, until almost but not quite doubled in size.
When rolls are nearly done with the second rise, preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then proceed to make the crosses. Stir together ½ cup flour and about 6 tablespoons water. Mixture should be a thick liquid. Add a little more water (or flour) if needed to get consistency right--you want a consistency that you can pipe onto the buns easily. Transfer mixture to a small ziplock bag or piping bag. Snip the end to create a small opening and pipe crosses onto buns.
Place in preheated oven and bake for about 20-24 minutes until tops are a nice golden brown color. Remove from oven.
While buns are still hot, stir together jam and orange juice in a small bowl and heat in microwave for about 15-30 seconds until warm. Brush hot buns with the jam mixture. Allow to cool completely.