Hot Cross Buns
Perfect hot cross buns for Easter. These buns are airy, fruity, and lightly spiced and have a beautiful sticky glaze too.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the buns
- 225 ml Whole milk
- 500 g Strong white bread flour
- 50 g Unsalted butter
- 65 g Caster sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp All Spice
- 7 g Dried yeast one sachet
- Orange Zest of 1
- 2 Medium eggs
- 200 g Raisins or sultanas
For the Glaze
- 2 tbsp Apricot jam
Instructions
- First, pour the milk into a small saucepan and warm the milk over medium heat (do not boil it just needs to be warm) then set it to one side.225 ml Whole milk
- Place the flour and butter into a mixing bowl and rub between your fingers so the mixer resembles tiny bread crumbs.500 g Strong white bread flour, 50 g Unsalted butter
- Then add in the Sugar, Salt, Cinnamon, Allspice, Orange zest, and the dried yeast. Now give it a quick mix.65 g Caster sugar, ½ tsp Salt, 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 tsp All Spice, Orange, 7 g Dried yeast
- Now add in the warm milk, Eggs, and raisins and mix them all to form a dough.2 Medium eggs, 200 g Raisins
- Add the dough to your stand mixer and using the dough hook knead for about 8-10 minutes.
- When the dough is smooth, stretchy, and springy to the touch, cover the mixing bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 1-2 hours. The dough should double in size at this time.
- Once the dough has risen, lightly flour a clean surface, remove the dough from the bowl and lightly knead by hand to “knock it back”.
- Now split the dough into 12 small balls. I do this by splitting the dough into quarters and then each quarter into three. Lightly knead each ball gently making sure the top of each dough ball is smooth. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place each ball about a cm apart.
- Cover the baking sheet with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise again for about 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Once the buns have risen mix together the flour and water to make a smooth paste.2 tablespoons Flour, 2 tablespoons Water
- Add to a piping bag and carefully pipe crosses to the top of each bun.
- Bake your hot cross buns for 18-20 minutes.
- Once cooked brush the tops of the hot cross buns with apricot jam, do this when they are fresh and hot out of the oven.2 tbsp Apricot jam
- You can eat hot cross buns warm or leave them to cool fully. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Notes
- Make sure when you are rising your bun dough you have it in a warm place so that it will rise. On cold days I store my rising dough in my airing cupboard next to the hot water tank.
- Why not try soaking the dried fruit in a little orange juice for a couple of hours beforehand. Doing this will help keep your hot cross buns looking lovely and fresh. My mum always does this if she is baking these for the next day.
- This recipe is best eaten the same day, as with all fresh bread recipes.
- You can store hot cross buns for the next day, just make sure to wrap them in cling film.
- You can use any jam you like for the glaze; you could even use honey or golden syrup too.
- You don’t have to use raisins; you could add in any currents, sultanas, mixed peel, cherries, or even add chocolate chips instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 7gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 122mgPotassium: 231mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 184IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!