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    Home » Bread Recipes » Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe

    Published: Mar 31, 2021 by Ajoke

    Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Easy Hot cross bun recipe: a lightly spiced and sweet roll served as part of a meal on good Friday! A great accompaniment to Easter dishes and beyond. Let me show you how to make it in easy steps.

    hot cross bun sliced into halves. One half of the bun is slathered with butter.

    Easy hot cross bun recipe

    Easter is one of the most celebrated Christian holidays. Jesus is the reason for the season but many often forget that. We are all about hot cross buns, Easter eggs and what we will put on our tables on Easter Monday. While all these are also important, we shouldn’t forget that Christ suffered to save and get us to this point we are today. Alleluia! He is risen!

    glazed hot cross buns.

    The following was an actual conversation between my daughter and I. While she is not a fan of hot cross bun because of the raisins. I am not so fussed as I believe it’s a phase and it would pass. She now eats some food she once rejected in the past. Hot cross buns are not only eaten at Easter, but you’ll also find it in the shops all year round. Whenever I have some time to kill, you will either find me baking delicious cakes or baking bread.

    This happened the last time I made this easy homemade hot cross bun

    Aduke: Mum, what sort of hot cross buns are these?
    Me: Excuse me🙄
    Aduke: yes, because I don't understand your cross, why are they so big🤷‍♀️
    Me: My sins are enormous that's why😂😂😂

    I told her it is homemade, it doesn’t have to be perfect as long as the taste and texture are not compromised. The more rustic the better. For my easy hot cross bun recipe, I used similar measurement to my easy homemade bread and made some slight adjustment.

    eight hot cross buns.

    These easy hot cross buns are not just for Easter alone, they are perfect all year round. Man shall not live with same plain white or brown bread. That is what we have got from these spiced and sweet buns. You can even turn them into a loaf, make them into French toast or bread pudding.

    I made this easy hot cross bun in my stand mixer, I threw all the ingredients in at once except the raisins which I added shortly after I started mixing. Let's get making my foolproof easy hot cross bun recipe

    flour and spices  in a stand mixer.

    Ingredients in my easy hot cross bun

    500g strong bread flour or strong plain flour, more for dusting

    80g butter

    1 cup currants

    1 tsp ginger

    75g sugar (use less or more)

    1 egg  at room temperature

    1 tsp allspice, substitute with ground clove

    7g fast action dried yeast

    280ml warm milk

    ½ tsp salt

    1 tsp cinnamon

    1 tsp nutmeg

    For the crossing

    4 tbs plain flour

    1 tbsp caster sugar

    4 tbsp water

    Vanilla essence optional

    For glazing

    2 tbsp honey

    2tbsp water

    Place in the microwave for 30 seconds and mix to combine

    How to make hot cross buns

    Add all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine

    Microwave the milk and butter for 1 minute on high power. Please note: the temperature of the milk should be slightly higher than room temperature, warm to touch (tepid) If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be between 45⁰C to 54⁰C (120⁰F to 130⁰F).

    Beat the egg into the milk mixture and quickly whisk together (wet ingredients).

    Using the dough hook, slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients on low speed. Followed by the currants and continue to mix on medium-high speed until smooth elastic dough is formed and the dough is no longer sticking to the side of the mixing bowl. This should be between 6 to 8 minutes

    If kneading by hand: after adding the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, turn it unto a lightly floured worktop and knead for at least 10 minutes

    process shot of making hot cross bun dough.

    First rise:

    Put the dough into an oiled bowl (use a bowl that is big enough to allow proofing) lightly oil the top of the dough then cover the bowl with cling film and kitchen towel. Place in the warmest part of your kitchen and leave to rise. This can take up to 2 hours

    once the dough is risen and doubled in size, knock it back down in the bowl to let all the air out. Turn it unto a lightly floured worktop, knead it slightly to deflate the remaining air in the dough.

    Divide the dough into 12 places. Roll each dough into a bun and place on an oiled baking pan leaving a bit of space in between to allow for the second rise. Lightly spray the top of the bun with cooking spray and cover with cling film. Leave to proof for the second time usually between 20 to 45 minutes.

    Whilst waiting on the second rise, preheat the oven at 200⁰C (392⁰F) and 190⁰C (374⁰F) for a fan oven

    Prepare the crossing paste

    Add water to sugar and flour mixture to form a paste, spoon into a piping bag and leave for later

    Once the buns have risen, remove the cling film. Pipe a line across each bun to form a cross

    dough proofing

    Transfer the buns into the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 20 minutes or until golden. Take the hot cross buns out of the oven and brush with honey syrup. Leave to cool for some few minutes. If you are like me, you would start eating the buns as soon as they come out of the oven.

    bread roll out of the oven
    bread roll eaten at easter
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe

    Easy Hot cross bun recipe: a lightly spiced and sweet roll served as part of a meal on good Friday! This hot cross bun recipe is foolproof. It is fluffy and delicious  
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    proofing time1 hr
    Total Time35 mins
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: Easy hot cross bun, hot cross bun recipe, hot cross buns
    Servings: 10
    Author: Ajoke

    Ingredients

    • 500 g strong bread flour or strong plain flour more for dusting
    • 80 g unsalted butter
    • 75 g sugar use less or more
    • 7 g fast action dried yeast
    • 280 ml warm milk
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 egg at room temperature
    • 1 tsp allspice substitute with ground clove
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp ginger
    • 1 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 cup currants

    For the crossing

    • 4 tbsp plain flour
    • 1 tbsp caster sugar
    • 4 tbsp water
    • Vanilla essence optional

    For glazing

    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 2 tbsp water

    Instructions

    • Add all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine
    • Microwave the milk and butter for 1 minute on high power. Please note: the temperature of the milk should be slightly higher than room temperature, warm to touch (tepid) If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be between 45⁰C to 54⁰C (120⁰F to 130⁰F).
    • Beat the egg into the milk mixture and quickly whisk together (wet ingredients).
    • Using the dough hook, slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients on low speed. Followed by the currants and continue to mix on medium-high speed until smooth elastic dough is formed and the dough is no longer sticking to the side of the mixing bowl. This should be between 6 to 8 minutes
    • If kneading by hand: after adding the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, turn it unto a lightly floured worktop and knead for at least 10 minutes
    • Put the dough in an oiled bowl (use a bowl that is big enough to allow proofing) lightly oil the top of the dough then cover the bowl with cling film and kitchen towel. Place in the warmest part of your kitchen and leave to rise. This can take up to 2 hours
    • once the dough is risen and doubled in size, knock it back down in the bowl to let all the air out. Turn it unto a lightly floured worktop, knead it slightly to deflate the remaining air in the dough.
    • Divide the dough into 12 places. Roll each dough into a bun and place on an oiled baking pan leaving a bit of space in between to allow for second rise. Lightly spray the top of the bun with cooking spray and cover with cling film. Leave to proof for the second time usually between 20 to 45 minutes.
    • Whilst waiting on the second rise, preheat the oven at 200⁰C (392⁰F) and 190⁰C (374⁰F) for a fan oven

    Prepare the crossing paste

    • Add water to sugar and flour mixture to form a paste, spoon into a piping bag and leave for later
    • Once the buns have risen, remove the cling film. Pipe a line across each bun to form a cross
    • Transfer the buns into the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 20 minutes or until golden. Take the hot cross buns out of the oven and brush with honey syrup or marmalade. Leave to cool for a few minutes. If you are like me, you would start eating the buns as soon as they come out of the oven. Enjoy!
    one glazed hot cross bun.

    If you made this hot cross bun recipe, don’t forget to leave me feedback. Tag me @myactivekitchen on Instagram and save away to your Pinterest

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MagdaT says

      April 06, 2022 at 10:31 pm

      This is a Nice work I'm going to prepare mine too on good Friday..thank you ma'am for the good work and for sharing your knowledge

      Reply
    2. Damian Oyibo says

      May 03, 2019 at 5:03 pm

      Wow! Looks enticing…i am sure doing this tomorrow. Can’t wait to…!☺

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        May 03, 2019 at 8:42 pm

        Thank you Damian, I would look forward to your feedback. Happy baking!!!

        Reply

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    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

    More about me →

    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

    More about me →

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