Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Nothing is more irresistible than the first bite of freshly baked hot cross buns recipe. The intoxicating spices, fresh bread aroma, and sweet raisins will fill your mouth with pure heaven.
I still remember when my auntie visited us after her glamorous London trip. She wanted to treat us, but she also wanted us to listen to her fantastic stories. The customs, foods, and traditions she learned about in England were memorable. Then, she introduced us to hot cross buns.
I vaguely remember her speaking. But mostly, I just nodded, making the appropriate uh-huh noises while savoring every bite of the fresh hot cross buns she had baked for us. Of course, she had to teach me how to make them, and now I make them for Lenten or any time the craving hits.
Complete Your Easter Celebration
Hot Cross Buns are customarily served on Good Friday, and homemade is way better than what you can buy at the store. Once you try this recipe, I’m sure you’ll never even look at store-bought ones again. Plus, no store can sell you the unforgettable aroma of baking bread that fills your kitchen.
How to Make Hot Cross Buns
The Dough
- Activate Yeast – Combine the active dry yeast with a couple of tablespoons of lukewarm water in a stand mixer or large bowl. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves and starts foaming, about 5 minutes. (Photo 1)
- Combine – Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe medium bowl, combine the milk, butter (cut into chunks), sugar, and salt, and microwave for about a minute. Stir it until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Let the mixture cool to 105℉ (40℃) so it doesn’t curdle the egg or kill the yeast.
- Whisk the egg lightly into the cooled butter mixture. Pour it into the activated yeast mixture.
- Mix by hand or in a stand mixer on medium-high using a dough hook until all the ingredients are combined.
- Add 3½ cups of flour, the spices, and grated orange zest. If using a stand mixer, continue mixing the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour (only if needed) to make a soft dough. (Photo 2)
- Knead – If doing it by hand, knead the dough for about six minutes on a lightly floured surface. (Photo 3)
- Add the raisins and continue kneading for two more minutes to incorporate them into the dough. (Photo 4)
- Rise – Place the dough in a large, greased bowl, then cover it loosely with a clean, damp cloth. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size (usually an hour or two). Punch the dough down. (Photo 5)
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then shape them into balls. Place them in a greased 9″×13″ baking pan or large oven-proof skillet. (Photo 6)
Flour Paste for the Cross
- Mix the flour, sugar, and water to make a paste for the cross. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick paste. (Photo 7)
- Create Crosses – Spoon the paste into a piping bag, then pipe a line along the middle of each row of buns. Repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Let them rise for about 20 minutes or until doubled. At this point, you can refrigerate the uncooked buns until the next day, then let them come to room temperature before baking. (Photo 8)
- Preheat the oven to 350 (180℃).
- Bake until the crust is golden brown and the buns sound hollow when tapped (20-25 minutes). Remove from the baking pan. (Photo 9)
The Glaze
- Combine milk and sugar and brush it over your hot cross buns. (Photo 10)
- Serve – Let them cool if desired, but they’re also delicious warm. They’re now ready to share with your loved ones.
Tips and Tricks
- Refrigerate the unbaked buns for up to 24 hours, then let them come to room temperature before baking.
- Be patient and let your dough rise long enough. The temperature and humidity can affect the rising time.
- Add water one tablespoon at a time if your cross paste is too thick. Add a little flour to fix it if it’s too thin.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Making the bread dough a day or two ahead improves the yeasty flavor. I’ve even made the dough a week early and kept it in an airtight Tupper. When ready to bake, let the dough come to room temperature for about half an hour, then form the buns.
Leftover buns will keep in an airtight container for three days on the shelf, a week in the fridge, and two months in the freezer.
Perfect Hot Cross Bun Pairings
We traditionally eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday because they represent the day Jesus was crucified. Baked salmon or blackened catfish are perfect entrees. Roasted potatoes and green bean casserole make ideal sides.
More Easy Baked Treats
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was first published in March 2017 and has been updated with an additional write-up, photos, and a video
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
The Buns
- 1 package active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) warm water (105-115℉/40-46℃)
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (75g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1 large egg
- 3¾ cups (450g) all-purpose flour (more as needed)
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) allspice
- 1 tablespoon (6g) orange zest
- ¾-1 cup (110-150g) raisins or currants or currants
Flour Paste
- 1 cup (120g) flour or more
- 2 tablespoons (24g) sugar
- ½ cup 120ml) water (adjust consistency as needed with more water)
Sugar Glaze
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) warm milk
- 2 tablespoons (24g) sugar
Instructions
The Buns
- Mix the yeast with a couple of tablespoons of lukewarm water in a stand mixer or large bowl. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves and starts foaming (about 5 minutes).
- Meanwhile, microwave the milk, butter pieces, sugar, and salt for about a minute in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the butter and sugar melt, then let cool to lukewarm so it doesn't kill the yeast and curdle the egg.
- Lightly whisk the egg into the cooled butter mixture, then mix everything into the yeast mixture. If using a stand mixer, whisk on medium-high speed with a dough hook until all the ingredients are combined.
- Then add 3½ cups of flour, the spices, and grated orange zest. Continue mixing until the dough doesn't stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl when kneading.
- Add additional flour as needed for a soft dough. (You can also do this by hand. Mix ingredients until it forms a soft dough ball, turn it onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for about six minutes.)
- Add the raisins to the dough and continue kneading for two more minutes to incorporate them.
- Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turn it to oil it, then cover it loosely with a clean, damp cloth. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled (an hour or two, depending on the weather). Punch the dough down (see Recipe Notes for a make-ahead tip)
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Place them in a greased 9"×13" baking pan, baking sheet, or large oven-proof skillet.
Flour Paste
- Mix flour, sugar, and water (a tablespoon at a time) to make the paste for the cross.
- Spoon the paste into a piping bag, then pipe a line along each row of buns. Repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Let them rise for 15-20 minutes or until doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) while they're rising. Bake them until the crust is golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped (20-25 minutes). Remove from the baking pan.
Glaze
- Combine milk and sugar, and brush hot cross buns with it.
- Let them cool or enjoy them warm.
Tips & Notes:
- Make-ahead tip. Refrigerate the unbaked buns for up to 24 hours, then let them come to room temperature before baking.
- Make sure the yeast activates and starts to foam before adding the rest of the ingredients. If it doesn’t, try it again with fresh yeast.
- Be patient and let your dough rise long enough. Temperature and humidity can significantly affect the rise time.
- Add water one tablespoon at a time to your cross paste so it doesn’t get runny. If you accidentally put in too much water, add a little flour to fix it.
- Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe
Hey there! If I am making these for the next day, do I add the cross glaze before I put them in the fridge or do I put them on before I make them the following day ?
Thanks!!
Hello Sonia, Both ways work . So I would add it the night before and be completely done with.
Yes you can. Refrigerate and remove about 30 minutes – 60 minutes before baking .
Thanks for the recipe. I suggest putting the part about leaving them out before putting in the oven up in the recipe. I thought about doing it but because it wasn’t mentioned I thought I could just add more time. Threw the texture off for me 🙁
I made these today using coconut milk as my Mom used to do it. I made 3 bigger buns instead of the 12 rolls as is our custom. They are delicious, and I am the envy of my sisters. 🙂 Thank you very much!
You are welcome! Thanks for the feedback.
Delicious… Just made these today for Good Friday! The sweet aroma fills my house.. Thank you soo much for this recipe… Wish I could send you the pic…
Happy Good Friday ! Glad it worked out well for you.
Sorry about the confusion . It should be 1/2 teaspoon each- in total – 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons.
Good morning just want tonfibd out the all spices whatvtype of spices is that want to make it today please.
Hi. Allspice is made from dried berries of allspice tree that looks like peppercorns. https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-allspice-p2-995556
I would like to use coconut oil instead of butter. How much oil should I use, please?
1/2 cup coconut oil.
This might be a dumb question! I have made these before and loved them so much, I am going to make them for Easter dinner this weekend as well. Can i make the dough the night before and let it rise overnight or will that mess up the consistency of the dough? I want them to be as perfect as they were the first time I made them but don’t want to mess anything up by letting the dough rise too long.
Never a dumb question here. We are all learning .
My advice would be do it up til step 10. Then refrigerate . It works just fine this way.
I have used this recipe the past few years and love it! Just to clarify someone else’s question – if I want to make the dough the night before, do I include step 10 and refrigerate (already in the baking dishes and in balls) or do I refrigerate the lump of dough and divide it the next morning? Thanks!
You may do either, Priya but it would be easier for you in the morning if step 10 is done but if you plan on storing it longer and just want to keep it handy, you can refrigerate the dough and divide when you’re ready 🙂
Can you fry it with oil, if you don’t have an oven?
Yes you can. You might want to cut it smaller – so it cooks up quickly.
I’m going to try this for this Friday.
Do you know if I could sub almond milk + coconut oil for the milk + butter, to make it dairy free?
Thanks! They look great.
Yes you absolutely can.
Enjoy!!
it is possible your flour paste is too thin. happened to me too. but with thicker paste they were perfect.
Hi Megan, I made it this weekend and it you are right . The consistency was too thin and the crosses were not as visible . Tried it again with 1/2 cup water and about 2 tablespoons water and it turned out great . Have adjusted recipe . Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Happy Easter!!!
I knew one recipe wouldn’t be enough so I made three, shared some; the rest are being eaten as I write this thank you note, and will have to make some more soon.
So thank you for a wonderful recipe from a Caribbean Nana
Thank you for dropping by, too. Glad you all like it. Will be making another batch of this, too, for tomorrow. 🙂
Best recipe I’ve found online. I’m terrible at baking and this worked a treat! Thank you!
why do my crosses disappear after baking?
I can’t say for sure without actually being there . You might want to try make the crosses a little bigger .
my crosses are actually bigger than yours originally, i’m retrying the recipe right now! i hope it works out this time. thank you for your reply!
I made three recipes, shared some the rest are being eaten as I write this thank you note, and will have to make some more soon.
So thank you for a wonderful recipe.
@Alexa, as Megan said your crosses were to thin, mine also disappeared however were very delicious, soft and fluffy. Thank you Immaculate bite!Harriet
Your welcome Harriet.
I have revised recipe . Happy Easter!!!
This recipe is perfect!!! Just like the hot cross buns i used to eat in Australia! Unfortunately they are almost impossible to find in the US.
I’m so glad I found it! They are very fluffy! I left out the orange peel and they still taste amazing!
Please what are the constituents of the “All spice”. I would really love to try it!!!!
All spice is a single spice also known as Jamaican pepper – you can easily substitute with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (equal amount of each)
It is called pimento never heard of Jamaican pepper.
I made these recently and made a couple of changes: I used 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. each of the allspice and nutmeg. I also added 1 peeled & finely chopped apple and about 1/2 chopped chopped walnuts after toasting in the oven for 5 minutes. Not traditional, but delicious!
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
Great! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Thanks for the great recipe, came out just like the hot cross buns at home in Australia 🙂
Thank you very much for this recipe. I made them yesterday following the recipe exactly (except for subbing raisins with craisins) and they turned out perfectly. They are a new tradition for this Swede.
I made these tonight for Easter breakfast tomorrow, but I don’t think they’ll make it – they seem to be magically disappearing. They turned out so amazing, I will never buy them from the stores again! First time I’ve made a bread recipe that turned out perfect the first time. I used my stand mixer for mixing and kneading and the entire process was so easy. I did forget to brush them with the milk sugar after baking but it didn’t matter because they’re awesome! Thanks SO much for posting this recipe.
Oh you are SO sweet Marlene! Everyone wants the last piece . Happy Easter!!!
I made them today and they came out wonderful! Thank you so much for your recipe.
Awesome! So happy to hear this.
After refrigerating should the dough be brought back to room temperature? About how long do you estimate that to take? I’m making these to take to a brunch and want to make sure I have the timing right.
Hi Kacie! Yes,it’s best to bring to room temperature before baking. Hope it all goes well at your brunch.