Hot cross buns

Hot cross buns

Make the most of the long Easter weekend and fill the house with the smell of spiced buns baking

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 12

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Plus rising and proving
Freezable

Low-fat

Method

  1. Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.
  2. Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.
  3. Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions - I roll my dough into a long sausage shape, then quarter and divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.
  4. Use a small, sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
  5. When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the crosses you cut earlier. Bake for 12-15 mins until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. While still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.
Try

More Easter baking

Once you've mastered these simple buns, you can use the same dough to make James's teatime Chelsea buns and delicious fruit loaf (see 'Goes well with') - just mix up the spices a bit and swap the currants for other dried fruits and nuts.

PER BUN

242 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 44g, fat 6 g, saturated fat 3g, fibre 1g, sugar 14g, salt 0.46 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • Binder photo Sophie

    07 April 2010

    Sophie rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo myra

    11 April 2010

    myra rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo bobba_dwj

    05 May 2010

    bobba_dwj rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe - tried a few, and this was the best. Works in bread machine as well - I added more water, but not sure if that was necessary. Used machine on basic recipe, dough raisin option. Proved for about 30 mins and then baked in oven.

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  • Binder photo elliekent

    30 March 2011

    elliekent rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    end result excellent, tastes just like shop brought. Have faith though, the dough felt like glue when i mixed it and i was a little worried how it would turn out. The thing i changed was the yeast, i used 1 sachet, not 2

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  • Binder photo Aimee_CM

    18 April 2011

    Aimee_CM rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Feeling pretty smug right now with a batch of variously sized, very light and bouncy and tasty home-made hot cross buns. Will definitely use this recipe again.

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  • Binder photo Rose

    18 April 2011

    Rose commented on this recipe

    does anyone know how many they last or if they freeze well? Thanks!

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  • Binder photo kej182

    20 April 2011

    kej182 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    They taste a bit yeasty so next time I would use less yeast.

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  • Binder photo Wendy da Wonda Witch

    22 April 2011

    Wendy da Wonda Witch rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made these last night - super yummy! My brand new Kenwood Chef mixer did all the kneading :) I added a little mixed peel and just under a teaspoon of "bread improver" to keep them from being too heavy (home made breads can be) and I got light fluffly buns. After all the "yucky cross" comments by others I decided to make up my own so I winged it with 2 parts flour, 1 part caster sugar and a little water to make a runny paste then put it in a freezer bag, peirced the corner with a skewer and piped on my crosses - occassionally a little lump blocked the hole I just pinched it out and kept going - they turned out really well. So those were the prototypes, I will make a batch for the extended family tomorrow with just a tiny bit more mixed spice :) HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

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  • Binder photo R Zantvoort

    22 April 2011

    R Zantvoort rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made these yesterday and ate my first Hot Cross Buns in over 20 years (I live abroad). I only used 10g of yeast and made the dough in a bread machine. They were utterly delicious! Very easy to make too. Thanks, James ;-)

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  • Binder photo Bronwyn Kate

    22 April 2011

    Bronwyn Kate rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just took these out of the oven and am trying to stop my four-year-old from devouring the lot. Turned out a treat, will definitely be making these again! Only changes were using 20 grams fresh yeast instead of dry because I prefer it and adding sugar to the flour paste. Lovely!

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  • Binder photo Polly

    22 April 2011

    Polly rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    delicious! i used mixed dried fruit and doubled the quantities and it was lovely!

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  • Binder photo Stephie_Kay

    22 April 2011

    Stephie_Kay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely delicious. taste even better than the shop bought

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  • Binder photo Presley

    22 April 2011

    Presley commented on this recipe

    I've made these twice now and was really pleased with the result. The second time I added a little more mixed spice and they tasted even better. I don't think I'll be buying shop bought ones again!

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  • Binder photo Mindy64

    22 April 2011

    Mindy64 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made these today (Good Friday). Great recipe, deliciously light - will probably add more spice next time though!!

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  • Binder photo Nina

    23 April 2011

    Nina rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo JosieB

    23 April 2011

    JosieB rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    i was a homemade hot cross bun virgin till i made these today and they are sooooo much nicer than shop bought i'm never buying them again :)

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  • Binder photo Andrea853

    24 April 2011

    Andrea853 commented on this recipe

    I'm just about to try these Hot X Bun's, just wondering how much milk to use. In the ingredients list it says 150mils, but in the method it says 50 mils, which one is correct please?

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  • Binder photo Jools

    03 May 2011

    Jools rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made these for Easter using my bread machine. Although the first batch turned out really well, my husband does like them spicy so I increased the mixed spice to 1 tsp and added ½ tsp salt to bring out the flavour further. I had to substitute raisins for currants (these do not appear to be available here in India at the moment) but still had a lot of very happy expatriate Brits! I also batch-baked them in a 23 cm square cake tin, Australian style, rather than making individual buns which everyone also liked. Lovely toasted the next morning and incredibly filling!

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  • Binder photo beautifuljulie

    09 June 2011

    beautifuljulie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very good!

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  • Binder photo kellyb

    08 July 2011

    kellyb rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My 4yr old girls and i have made these hotcross buns three times now, and not only are they really easy to make, they are delicious! All the family love them and we will certainly be making them on a regular basis!

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes 12

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Plus rising and proving
Freezable

Low-fat

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 450g strong white flour , plus extra for dusting
  • 2 x 7g sachets easy-blend yeast
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150ml warm milk
  • 1 egg , beaten
  • 50g unsalted butter , melted, plus extra for greasing
  • oil , for greasing

THE SPICES AND DRIED FRUIT

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
  • 100g currants

TO DECORATE

  • 4 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
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PER BUN

242 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 44g, fat 6 g, saturated fat 3g, fibre 1g, sugar 14g, salt 0.46 g

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