Hot Cross Buns

This traditional Hot Cross Buns recipe is great to enjoy during the Easter season. They have a cross baked directly into the bun and are lightly sweetened with an orange sugar glaze.

Course Bread

Cuisine British

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 1 30

Total Time 2 25

Servings buns

Calories 123kcal

Author Jere' Cassidy

Equipment

Ingredients

For the buns:

4 cups Bread flour
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter diced
1 each zest of 1 orange
1 cup raisins or any other dried fruit
2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons water
½ orange juiced

For the cross topping:

½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For the glaze:

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

How To Make The Hot Cross Buns Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir the flour, salt, active dry yeast, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice for 1 minute or until combined.
Add the diced butter in small amounts and mix on low speed until the flour mixture is the consistency of sand. Then, mix in the raisins and orange zest. Note: if your raisins are large, just take some scissors and cut them into smaller pieces.
Place the milk and water in a heat-proof measuring cup or bowl and warm in the microwave for one minute, it should be about 110 degrees, then whisk in the egg and the juice from half an orange.
Next, add the warm milk mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is soft, and only slightly tacky to the touch.
Shape the dough into a ball, and place it back into the mixing bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. Each portion will be approximately 1.5 ounces in weight. Roll each portion into small balls.
Place the dough evenly spaced onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes for the second rise.

Making The Cross Icing

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, milk and sugar together until you get a paste. It will resemble royal icing. Place the flour mixture into a piping bag or a ziploc bag and snip the corner and pipe a cross on each roll.
Preheat the oven to 400° while the dough is rising.

Baking and Glazing Instructions

Bake for 15-20 minutes in your preheated oven. The buns will be browned on top. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
While the buns are baking, make the glaze by mixing sugar, water and orange juice in a small saucepan. Place the pan over a burner set to medium heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool for 10 minutes, then brush the syrup over the warm buns and serve immediately.

Storage

Store leftovers, covered or in a zipper bag, at room temperature for up to 3 days. At that point, the buns will be stale and may require a bit of a warm up in the microwave to soften.

Notes

Notes:

You can make these rolls bigger if you like.

Once you zest the orange, cut it in half and use half in the batter and the other half in the syrup.

The baked buns are a hearty, bakery-style yeast roll with a rich, chewy texture and a firm yet tender crumb.

I find these best eaten warm, just pop a roll(s) in the microwave for 15 seconds.

The flour paste:

You will have leftover flour paste for the cross. It just makes it easier to pipe when your pastry bag is full enough to press out the paste.

Freezing Options:

Unbaked rolls -To freeze unbaked rolls, shape the buns after the first rise, freeze them on a lined baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container. When ready to bake, let them thaw and rise for 3–5 hours before following the recipe.

Baked rolls—If you are planning on freezing these buns to serve later, I suggest freezing them BEFORE you glaze them. When ready to serve, simply thaw at room temperature, brush on the glaze and serve immediately.

Spices

Pumpkin Pie Spice—Don’t have pumpkin spice? Don’t worry—just mix equal amounts of ground nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

Nutrition