Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday. I love the warm and fragrant combination of spices and dried fruit in this recipe. Finish the pretty buns with an icing cross on top.
Table of contents
Why these are The Best Hot Cross Buns
Generally, Hot Cross Buns are decorated with a flour paste cross piped on before baking and then maybe they get a bit of of a glaze.
Do a quick search for Hot Cross Buns and you’ll see most of the recipes on the internet look very similar. But these buns are different, and I think they’re better.
This recipe is adapted from one I found in an old British cookbook. I used to make and sell these at a British Tea Shop and they sold, well, like hotcakes!
These buns have a mix of warm spices and are studded with raisins and dried dates. The dried dates bring so much flavor to the buns and are a real change of pace from just raisins.
Instead of a flour paste cross, these buns have a cross cut into them before baking. They bloom wonderfully in the oven.
The warm-from-the-oven buns are brushed 2x with a with a sweet milk-glaze. The glaze sets to a lovely sticky coating.
The final touch is to pipe an icing cross on top of the glaze.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- All Purpose Flour – Medium protein content AP flour is perfect for making buns that are tender but still have enough gluten to contain the dried fruits as the dough rises.
- Yeast – I prefer instant yeast to rapid rise yeast for a slightly slower rise. A slower rise gives more time for flavor to develop, especially if you let them rise in the refrigerator overnight.
- Spices – You can adjust the amount of spice to your taste. I love the taste of the buns with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves. If you prefer a more subtle flavor reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon.
- Dried Dates – Dried chopped dates are a nice addition to these buns. You can replace the dates with more raisins or any other dried fruit of your choice.
The Process for making Hot Cross Buns
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Scald the milk, then melt the butter in the hot milk.
- Whisk the salt and spices with the flour.
- Combine the milk mixture with the sugar and yeast in a mixer bowl.
- Use the paddle to add half the flour to the wet ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes to develop the gluten.
- Add the raisins and dates to the batter.
- Switch to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour. The dough will start out quite sticky and shaggy.
- Knead for 5 minutes. The dough should gather on the hook and clear the sides of the bowl.
- Set the dough aside to rise until doubled in volume.
- Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece to tight ball.
- Line the buns in a buttered 13×9″ pan. Brush the buns with melted butter. Cover the pan and set aside to rise at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
- Let the buns rise until doubled in size. They should almost fill the pan.
- Cut a cross in the top of each bun.
- Bake until golden brown.
- As soon as the buns come out of the oven brush them generously with the milk glaze. Brush them a second time.
- Mix the leftover glaze with powdered sugar to make an icing thick enough to pipe.
- Pipe a cross on top of each bun.
- Enjoy warm or within a few hours of baking.
How to make Hot Cross Buns overnight:
- After mixing the dough let it rise once and then form the buns. Place the buns in the pan and refrigerate overnight.
- Take the pan out of the refrigerator early in the morning. Because the dough is cold, the buns may need about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs to rise.
- To speed up rising, you can place the cold pan of buns into a barely warm oven very briefly. Leave the pan just long enough to take the chill off the pan.
- If you’re like me and not particularly fond of getting up early you can set the alarm, take the buns out of the refrigerator, then go back to bed for an hour or so before getting up to preheat the oven.
Storage & Serving
Hot Cross buns are best still warm from the oven or the day they are baked. They will keep at room temperature for a day. You can rewarm them in the oven to revive the texture.
Do not refrigerate the baked buns. Freeze left over buns for up to a month. Defrost and rewarm before serving.
More Bun & Sweet Bread Recipes
- Sticky Buns
- Cinnamon Buns
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Kouign-Amann
- Dutch Sugar Bread
- Classic Brioche
- Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider giving it 5 stars.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday. Warm and fragrant with cinnamon and cloves, they're so good they shouldn't be reserved for just one day a year.
buns
Ingredients
Buns
- 8 oz whole milk
- 2 oz unsalted butter
- 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 20 oz all purpose flour (4 cups, divided, see note)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground cloves (adjust to taste)
- 3 oz dark raisins (¾ cup)
- 2 oz dried dates (½ cup, chopped)
- 2 oz unsalted butter (melted)
Glaze
- 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 2 oz milk (¼ cup)
- 2 oz water (¼ cup)
- confectioner sugar
Instructions
- In a micro-wave safe measuring cup or small bowl, microwave the milk until scalding hot. Add the butter to the milk and mix until the butter is melted. Cool the milk to slightly warmer than body temperature.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 20 oz all purpose flour with 1 teaspoon table salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg and ¼-½ teaspoon ground cloves.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a mixing bowl) combine the milk/butter mixture with 2 oz granulated sugar, 1 large egg and 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeastMix until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add half of the flour mixture. Increase the speed to medium high and beat the batter to develop the gluten. Reduce the speed to low and add 3 oz dark raisins and 2 oz dried dates.
- If using a stand mixer, change to the dough hook and add the remaining flour with the mixer running on low speed. If working by hand add as much flour as you can by hand then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to add the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes.
- The dough should be soft and elastic and will clear the sides of the bowl if mixing with the dough hook. Take the dough off the mixer and knead on a lightly floured surface to make a smooth ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn once to coat the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temp to rise until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).
- Brush a 13"x9" baking pan with some of the (melted) 2 oz unsalted butter. Reserve the rest of the melted butter.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Using your cupped hand, roll each piece of dough around in a circle form a ball.
- Place the buns in the prepared pan. Brush the buns with the rest of the melted butter. At this point the buns can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.
- If baking the same day allow the buns to rise for about an hour until doubled in volume. If baking the next day, remove the tray from the refrigerator and allow the buns to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume (about 1½ to 2 hours). While the buns rise preheat the oven to 375 °F and make the glaze.
- To make the glaze, combine 2 oz granulated sugar, 2 oz milk and 2 oz water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until all the sugar melts, the liquid comes to a simmer and the glaze has thickened a bit. Turn off the heat and place a lid on the pan to keep warm.
- Using a sharp knife or single edge razor, score the top of each bun with a cross shape. Bake until golden brown. About 20 minutes.
- Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush generously with the glaze. After all the buns are glazed once, go back and glaze them all a second time.
- Pour the left over glaze into a small bowl. Add enough confectioner sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip or use a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped off.
- Pipe a cross shape on each bun.
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Equipment
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Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
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