Hot Cross Buns

Want to try your hand at baking a classic Easter treat?

Look no further!

Our Hot Cross Bun recipe is perfect for anybody looking to do some home baking over the Easter weekend. They are a great early morning treat especially when paired with butter, jam or your spread of choice.

Say goodbye to stodgy, supermarket buns and say hello to delicious, freshly baked Hot Cross Buns.

Read ahead to discover how we bake ours in the recipe below.

Info

Prep Time: 3 Hours 30 Mins

Cooking Time: 20 Mins

Serves: 15 Serves

Ingredients

For the buns:

• 300ml Whole Milk
• 50g Butter
• 500g Strong Bread Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 75g Caster Sugar
• 1 tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 7g Easy Blend Yeast
• 1 Egg
• 75g Sultanas
• 50g Mixed Peel
• 1 Orange Zest
• 1 Apple
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Mixed Spice

For the cross:

• 75g Plain Flour

For the glaze:

• 3 tbsp Apricot Jam

Instructions

1. Bring 300ml of full fat milk to the boil before removing from the heat and adding 50g of butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. 

2. Put the bread flour, salt, yeast and caster sugar into a bowl and make a well at the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add one beaten egg. Mix well, then bring everything together until it forms a sticky dough.

3. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand using the palm of your other hand to stretch it and then fold it back on itself. Repeat for five mins until smooth and stretchy.

4. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.

5. When the dough has risen, tip your mixed peel, sultanas, orange zest, finely chopped and peeled apple, cinnamon and mixed spice in and knead until everything is evenly distributed.

6. Cover again with well oiled cling film and leave the dough to rise again for one hour.

7. Separate the dough into 15 equal pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured surface. Arrange the buns on one or two (depending on size) trays lined with baking parchment. Make sure to leave enough space for the buns to expand.

8. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for one hour.

9. Heat oven to 200C / 180C fan / Gas Mark 6. Mix 75g of plain flour with five tbsp of water (adding them one at a time) to make a thick paste for the crosses.

10. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe a line along each row of buns. Then repeat in the other direction to make the cross shape.

11. Bake for 18-20 mins until golden brown and remove from the oven.

12. Gently heat the apricot jam on a low heat then sieve to remove any chunks. While it’s still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool before serving.