These hot cross buns are delicately spiced and have a variety of raisins in them. A wonderful treat for Easter!
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These hot cross buns are so soft, flaky, sweet and just melt in your mouth! They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, and if you have leftovers, you can make an amazing bread pudding out of them.
What are hot cross buns?
Hot cross buns are a yeasted sweet bun that is served around Easter. They are filled with spices and dried fruit, such as raisins, currants or citrus. They are decorated with a white cross piped on top and a sweet glaze.
Ingredients
- Yeast - I use active dry yeast, but use whichever kind you are used to. The rising times will vary depending on type.
- Granulated sugar - to make the buns sweet.
- Milk - I prefer whole milk in this recipe, but 2% would work too.
- Unsalted butter - if you only have salted butter, use that and omit the added salt.
- Eggs - use large eggs.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt - all for flavour!
- All purpose flour
- Thompson raisins and sultana raisins - you could use just one kind or raisins, both, or even add in currants or citrus.
- Water
How do I make them?
I used my dinner roll recipe as a starting point for the hot cross buns, and doubled it as I wanted 12 larger rolls. Start by stirring the yeast, sugar and milk together. Let that mixture sit for a few minutes to make sure the yeast is active. Add in butter, eggs and all the spices. Next add in ¾ of the amount of flour. Knead that together, add the salt, and then add in more flour, a bit at a time, until the dough comes together and is not very sticky to the touch.
Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size. After it has doubled, divide the dough into 12 rolls. I like to weigh the dough to make sure all the rolls are the same size, but you could also just eyeball it. Make sure the rolls are smooth on top and sealed on the bottom. Place the rolls onto parchment lined baking sheets and cover with kitchen towels. Allow the rolls to double in size, then apply the crosses, and bake.
Crosses
I make the crosses on top of these rolls with a flour/water mixture. You can use a piping bag or use a sandwich bag and snip off a corner. The crosses get piped on before they are baked.
You can also opt for a royal icing cross if you want a bit more sweetness. The crosses would be piped on after baking and the buns have cooled.
Sweet glaze
A sweet glaze of warm milk and melted sugar gets brushed on top of the buns after being baked. This makes the hot cross buns shiny and sweet.
Make ahead
These hot cross buns can be frozen and re-warmed another day. Have them come to room temperature and reheat.
You could also freeze them after you have shaped them into individual rolls. Then you can take the rolls out of the freezer, allow them to come to room temperature and double in size. Pipe the crosses on them and then bake.
Tips for the best hot cross buns
- Yeast - This recipe calls for active dry yeast, but you can use whichever type of yeast you prefer. The rising times will change depending on the type of yeast though (i.e. instant yeast will have a faster rise).
- Milk - Lower fat milks will work, but the buns will lose a bit of it's richness.
- Add-ins - This recipe calls for 2 different kinds of raisins. Use just one kind if you like, add in currents, candied fruit, lemon or orange zest. Keep the total amount of add-ins to ¾ cup.
- Freezing - Shape the rolls and before you let them rise, put them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put them in a freezer bag. They won't stick together then. These can be frozen for up to 3 months. On the day you serve them, arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel, and let them thaw and rise at room temperature for about 5-6 hours. Pipe the crosses on them and bake.
- Overnight - Shape the rolls and before you let them rise, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the buns from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature and rise, about 4 hours. Pipe the crosses on them and bake uncovered.
- Icing Crosses - If you prefer to make the crosses with royal icing, do not pipe the crosses on before baking the buns. Bake them and then once cooled, pipe the crosses on. Let the royal icing dry before brushing the glaze on top.
Other bread recipes you might like
- IRISH SODA BREAD WITH ORANGE BUTTER
- YORKSHIRE PUDDING RECIPE
- RED VELVET CINNAMON ROLLS
- BEST HOMEMADE DINNER ROLLS
- SOFT CINNAMON ROLLS
Recipe
Hot Cross Buns
These hot cross buns are spiced and sweet with raisins inside. A wonderful treat for Easter!
Ingredients
Hot Cross Buns
- 1 teaspoon quick-rise instant yeast
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk, warm
- 5 tablespoon (72g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 - 4 ⅓ cups (500g - 540g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup thompson raisins
- ¼ cup sultana raisins
Cross
- ¼ cup (1.50g) all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon water
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
Hot Cross Buns
- In a bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the dough hook attachment, add yeast, sugar and milk. Mix together and then add in butter, eggs and spices.
- Weigh flour into a separate bowl and then add in ¾ of the amount of flour to the other ingredients. Add in salt and knead together. Add in a tbsp of the remaining flour at a time until the dough comes together and just cleans the bowl.
- Knead both types of raisins into the dough.
- Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm environment until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cover 2 baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- Punch down the risen dough and weigh it. Divide that amount by 12 to figure out how much each hot cross bun should weigh to get similar sizing.
- Form each bun and place on the prepared baking trays. Cover loosely with parchment paper and let rise for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix flour and water together to make a loose paste. Fill the paste into a piping bag and cut a small hole off the bottom. Pipe crosses onto the buns before they go into the oven.
- Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until golden brown.
- In a small bowl, mix the milk and sugar together. Dissolve the sugar by warming up the mixture in a microwave.
- Brush the glaze over the tops of each bun after they come out of the oven.
- Hot cross buns are best eaten the day they are made.
Cross
Glaze
Notes
- Yeast - This recipe calls for active dry yeast, but you can use whichever type of yeast you prefer. The rising times will change depending on the type of yeast though (i.e. instant yeast will have a faster rise).
- Milk - Lower fat milks will work, but the buns will lose a bit of it's richness.
- Add-ins - This recipe calls for 2 different kinds of raisins. Use just one kind if you like, add in currents, candied fruit, lemon or orange zest. Keep the total amount of add-ins to ¾ cup.
- Freezing - Shape the rolls and before you let them rise, put them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put them in a freezer bag. They won't stick together then. These can be frozen for up to 3 months. On the day you serve them, arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel, and let them thaw and rise at room temperature for about 5-6 hours. Pipe the crosses on them and bake.
- Overnight - Shape the rolls and before you let them rise, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the buns from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature and rise, about 4 hours. Pipe the crosses on them and bake uncovered.
- Icing Crosses - If you prefer to make the crosses with royal icing, do not pipe the crosses on before baking the buns. Bake them and then once cooled, pipe the crosses on. Let the royal icing dry before brushing the glaze on top.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 240Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 256mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 6g
All nutritional information provided on ninakneadstobake.com are intended for informational purposes only.
I adapted your recipe for my bread machine and I used 1 1/4 cups of milk instead of 1 cup and 4 1/2 cups flour I think they turned out really nice.
That's great Robert! I am so glad you like it!