These Classic Hot Cross Buns are soft, fluffy, and warmly spiced with cinnamon, orange zest, and plump sultanas. Each bun is finished with the traditional flour cross and brushed while warm with a simple apricot glaze for that glossy bakery-style finish.
Soft, Spiced, Fruity Buns That Smell Incredible While They Bake.There are some recipes where the smell coming from the oven is half the reason to make them.
Hot cross buns are absolutely one of those recipes.
Between the cinnamon, warm spice, orange zest, butter, and sweet dried fruit, the whole kitchen starts smelling like a bakery long before the buns are ready.
The dough itself is soft and lightly enriched with milk, egg, and butter. Sultanas are folded throughout, then the buns are shaped, proofed until puffy, piped with their classic crosses, and baked until beautifully golden.
And that shiny finish?
Just warm apricot jam and a little water brushed over the tops while they’re still hot.
If soft homemade breads are your thing, my Soft Homemade Brioche Bread has the same pull-apart, bakery-style appeal. For another cinnamon-heavy breakfast bake, try these Soft Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese frosting.
For a more traditional tea-time bake, my English Scones are perfect with jam, and a warm hot cross bun beside Homemade Hot Chocolate is an especially good cold-weather breakfast situation.
Ingredients
How to Make Hot Cross Bun Crosses
- Mix the dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, mix the bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt cinnamon and mixed spice.
- Stir in the wet ingredients + sultanas
- Stir in warm milk, egg, melted butter and orange zest. Combine until they form a sticky dough, then stir in the sultanas.
- Knead and first rise
- Knead until the dough is no longer coarse and springy. Turn dough over in a greased bowl, cover it, and let rise until doubled.
- Divide and shape
- Turn the flour onto a lightly floured surface. Then divide into equal portions then roll to form smooth balls.
- Arrange in the pan
- Put the balls of dough in a parchment-lined baking dish, leaving some room between them.
- Cover and proof until puffy.
- Pipe the crosses
- Combine cross flour and water until you have a thick, pipeable paste. Pipe lines in one direction across the buns, then pipe them in the opposite direction to form crosses.
- Bake
- Bake until golden brown and no longer moist.
- Glaze
- Heat the apricot jam with water and brush over the hot buns for a glossy shine.
What Are Hot Cross Buns?
Hot cross buns are soft, lightly sweetened yeast buns flavored with warm spices and dried fruit and marked with a cross on top.
This version uses sultanas, cinnamon, orange zest, a baked flour-paste cross, and apricot glaze.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Use warm milk, not hot milk, when making yeast dough. Very hot liquid can damage the yeast, while lukewarm liquid helps the dough rise properly and gives the buns a soft, fluffy texture.
- Not letting the dough rise long enough.
- Adding too much flour, which can make the buns dry and heavy.
- Skipping the spices, which give hot cross buns their classic flavor.
- Adding dried fruit without mixing it evenly through the dough.
- Making the flour paste crosses too thick or too runny.
- Overbaking the buns, which can make them less soft and fluffy.
What To Serve With Classic Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Classic Hot Cross Buns are delicious served warm with butter, jam, honey, orange marmalade, or cream cheese. They also pair well with hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, or a cozy Easter brunch spread.
FAQs
Yes. You may find the buns a little less chewy and a bit softer, but they’ll still be great.
Common culprits include milk that was too hot or yeast that is not active. Make sure the dough is also rising someplace warm.
They should be golden and when you tap the top, they will feel set. If you give the top a gentle tap, it should sound slightly hollow.
Yes. Cover and refrigerate overnight after the first rise. Return it to (or close to) room temperature, shape, proof and then bake.
In America I get away with pumpkin pie spice very well. You can also use allspice + cinamon.
No, but the glaze gives them a glossy shimmer and a bakery flourish. You can also brush with honey.
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Classic Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and mixed spice.
- Add warm milk, egg, melted butter, and orange zest. Mix to form a dough, then stir in the sultanas.
- Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls.
- Arrange dough balls in a parchment-lined baking pan. Cover and proof until puffy.
- Mix cross flour with water into a thick paste. Pipe lines across the buns, then pipe lines the other way to form crosses.
- Bake until golden brown and cooked through.
- Warm apricot jam with water and brush over hot buns. Cool slightly, then serve.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- If the cross paste spreads too much, add a little extra flour; if it won’t pipe, add a few drops of water.
- Swap sultanas with raisins, golden raisins, or dried cranberries.
- Pumpkin pie spice works well if you don’t have mixed spice.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
