Hot cross buns
Recipe for sweet hot cross buns for Easter
Hello dear ones! Today I want to recommend delicious and iconic Hot Cross Buns for Easter! These are traditional baked goods that can be found in English-speaking countries. They are delicate yeast buns, often sprinkled with powdered sugar and decorated with a cross made of confectionery paste. Believe me, these buns are not only visually beautiful but also tasty and aromatic! They are filled with raisins, orange peel, and warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. This combination of flavors perfectly suits spring holidays and brings back childhood memories. Hot Cross Buns are a great idea for a sweet treat for family and friends during Easter. They are easy to prepare and will surely impress your guests. I recommend trying them! Be sure to check out my recipe with photos and bake these buns for the upcoming Easter.
Table of contents
Hot cross buns recipe step by step
If you like to test recipes from different corners of the world in your kitchen, then for these holidays, be sure to bake these traditional buns.
Hot cross buns recipe with step-by-step photos
Składniki
ingredients for hot cross bun yeast dough
- 15 g yeast (fresh)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 180 ml milk (warm, but not hot 3/4 cup)
- about 320 g wheat flour – all-purpose (2 slightly heaped cups)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon gingerbread spice
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk (from a size L egg)
- 25 g butter (melted and cooled)
- 100 g raisins (or cranberries, 3/4 cup)
- zest (grated from one orange)
ingredients for the cross mixture
- 2 tablespoons wheat flour
- 3-4 tablespoons water (or until desired consistency)
ingredients for the glaze
- 1 tablespoon jam (peach or orange)
- 2 tablespoons water
Instrukcja
How to make hot cross bun yeast dough step by step
- Pour hot water over the raisins or cranberries and let stand for about 10 minutes to soften. After this time, drain the water.100 g raisins
- Crumble the yeast, add sugar and milk to it – mix thoroughly. Cover the dish with yeast and set aside in a warm place for about 15 minutes.15 g yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, 180 ml milk
- Place the dry ingredients in a mixer bowl.about 320 g wheat flour – all-purpose, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon gingerbread spice, 1 pinch salt, zest
- Add the egg yolk, melted butter, and yeast starter to the dry ingredients.1 egg yolk, 25 g butter
- Knead the dough – it will be slightly sticky.
- Add raisins or cranberries and knead together.
- Cover the bowl with the dough and set aside in a warm place for about an hour to rise.
- After this time, knead the dough briefly again.
- Place it on a floured surface and roll into a thick log.
- Divide the dough into about 8 pieces.
- Form each piece into a ball and place in a baking dish (mine is about 17/25 cm – greased with oil).
- Cover the baking dish with a cloth and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes to rise.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (fan-assisted).
How to make the cross mixture for the buns
- Pour flour into a bowl, add water in portions and mix.2 tablespoons wheat flour, 3-4 tablespoons water
- The mixture should be thick, but still pourable from a spoon.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and cut off a small corner.
- Pipe the mixture onto the buns, creating characteristic crosses.
- Place the buns in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes – until golden brown.
- Mix the jam with water and heat briefly in the microwave or a saucepan.1 tablespoon jam, 2 tablespoons water
- Brush the hot buns with the heated jam using a pastry brush.
Uwagi
Wartości Odżywcze
Hot cross buns – notes
For some time now, I’ve had a strong desire to try a recipe for hot cross buns, and I finally succeeded. And at the best possible time, too. What are these hot cross buns? They are very popular in Great Britain, sweet yeast buns with a characteristic cross on top. Traditionally, these buns were baked on Good Friday, but now they are available for sale all year round. I assume that the cross on the buns refers to the crucifixion of Jesus. Apparently, eating such a bun on Good Friday was supposed to bring good luck for the whole year. In Poland, we don’t have this custom, but I think it’s a very nice tradition. And yeast buns are so delicious that they are worth baking on ordinary days too.
How to make hot cross buns – tips
Here we have yeast dough, so you will need yeast – I used fresh. If you are using instant yeast, use one packet. In addition, we add a lot of raisins to the dough. Instead of them, I used cranberries, because my children don’t really like raisins. Before adding them to the dough, I poured hot water over them for a while. Thanks to this, the dried fruits became soft. Besides raisins, we add cinnamon and orange zest to the dough. I also added a little gingerbread spice, but you can omit it. The buns are soft and very aromatic after baking. And with the added cranberries, they tasted absolutely divine to me.
How to serve hot cross buns?
You can serve these slightly warm buns with raisins for breakfast or as a snack. They taste great on their own, but you can cut them open and spread them with jam. Be sure to bake these hot cross buns for Easter or for a weekend breakfast. I’ll add that the buns are perfect for packing for work or school. My husband took a few for his run and enjoyed them just before the start – he ran an ultramarathon at the Kudowa Running Festival.
And for breakfast, I also recommend my recipe for brioche with crumble or for two-color brioche with cocoa.
Recommended bun recipes
Be sure to try my other recipes for delicious buns – both savory and sweet – which will be perfect for breakfast and as a snack during the day. Here I recommend, among others, these three recipes:
Popularne Przepisy
Polecane przepisy
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Here is a recipe for soft yeast rolls with raisins, perfect for a sweet breakfast or a snack. These raisin buns taste delicious thanks to the cinnamon and orange zest added to the dough. They make the pastry delightfully aromatic and give it a wonderful scent. Eating one of these soft buns means encountering a raisin or a cranberry with every single bite.
Personally, I adore yeast bakes with raisins—I actually tend to pick out the raisins as I eat and savor their flavor. I don’t know what it is, but raisins in a yeast dough somehow take on a completely unique taste. I find them hard to resist. Are you the same way? If so, you are going to love these raisin buns! Hot cross buns, named after their characteristic cross on top, turn out soft, fluffy, and packed with sweet raisins after baking. To me, they are simply heavenly!
Hot Cross Buns
Take a look at my hot cross buns recipe and whip them up for Easter. Traditionally, they were baked on Good Friday, but nowadays people enjoy them pretty much every day. And it’s no wonder—these yeast buns with raisins are so delicious that it would be a shame to only have them once a year. It’s actually quite similar to our Polish St. Martin's croissants (rogale świętomarcińskie). They used to be a once-a-year treat, and now they are available all year round. I’m all for these changes. Why should we miss out on delicious baked goods? It’s like eating donuts only on Fat Thursday!
Yeast Buns with Raisins
With my hot cross buns recipe, you will make them without any trouble. Accurate tips, clear instructions, and step-by-step photos will help you prepare hot cross buns for the whole family. My recipe yielded 8 quite large buns. You can easily double the batch of these raisin rolls if you are hosting more guests for the holidays.
Hot cross buns taste magnificent spread with peach or orange jam and served with a mug of hot tea. However, they are also wonderful entirely on their own. This cinnamon yeast dough is so aromatic that it doesn't need any extra toppings. So, you absolutely must give this hot cross buns recipe a try!
