Whether they're freshly baked or toasted, I love these buns and bake a batch whenever it takes my fancy, leaving off the crosses if it isn't Easter. I also like to vary the dried fruit – a mix of chopped dates, cranberries, apricots, and cherries is particularly good.
Ingredients
Makes 8
For the crosses
To finish
Preparation
Step 1
If you have a stand mixer, combine the flours, water, milk, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl and fit the dough hook. Add the egg and butter and mix to a sticky dough.
Step 2
Add the dried fruit, orange zest, and spices and knead on low speed until silky and smooth. (You can do this by hand, but it will be sticky to handle.) Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Step 3
Deflate the risen dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape into rounds and dust with flour. Place on a floured board, cover with plastic wrap or linen, and let proof for about 30 minutes, until roughly doubled in size.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 400°F. To make the crosses, whisk together the flour and water until smooth, then transfer to a pastry bag and snip off the end to make a fine hole (or use a plastic food bag with a corner snipped off, as I do). Transfer the risen buns to a baking sheet and pipe a cross on top of each one, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 5
Meanwhile, melt the jam with the water in a pan. Brush over the buns to glaze as you take them from the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm, cold, or toasted.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (9)
Back to Topthese were very good! I like that the crosses are not frosting. I also found that the dough was not sticky, and had to add quite a bit more water. The dough took about twice as long to rise as stated in the recipe. I made 12 rolls and they were still on the large side.
jansan1
Orange County, CA.
4/2/2018
These were amazing!! Just the delicious, classic hot cross bun recipe I was looking for, with lots of flavour. I did make a few tweaks: I increased the dried fruit to a full cup (and used a mix of chopped dried apricots, prunes, and mixed dried berries), and increased the cinnamon to a half teaspoon. Because I had some extra lemon zest left over from another recipe, I added it (about a teaspoon) in addition to the orange zest. And I used peach jam for the glaze. Instead of eight large buns I made 12 smaller buns, and they are a perfectly 'normal' size. I LOVE how these came out, and will make them exactly this way again!
isbee
Toronto, ON
4/25/2017
The dough was never 'sticky' even though I used a large egg. The raisins would not fold into the dough once it was made. The buns are huge. I could easily have got a dozen from this. I think there is too much flour in this recipe. They taste ok. Only ok. Still searching for a good recipe.
major_d
4/16/2017
Super easy to make. These were light and fluffy and browned beautifully in the oven. Will definitely make again. - I was out of cinnamon, so substituted ground cardamom and about 1/4 tsp saffron strands and the buns still tasted well-spiced. - I added 1/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots and Bing cherries in addition to currants. The dough rises a lot so the fruit was still fairly sparsely distributed. I'll probably use a bit more next time. - They definitely took longer to rise than 1 hour + 30 minutes, but it wasn't exactly a warm day when I made them. My first rise took around 2 1/2 hours and the second about an hour. - The 8 buns this quantity of dough makes are huge. A dozen would be a more manageable size unless you're feeding starving teenagers :)
cardamommy
SF, CA
3/30/2013
Great dough. Fine soft crumb. Hold it's shape well. I threw all the ingredients in my bread maker. Eyed it while kneading and added more or less milk/water accordingly. Made 3 batches! Got the kids to pipe in the crosses so they can tell grandma they 'made' it. Some modifications - made round bun shapes but put it close together in an 8inch cake pan. As it expand, the buns filled up the whole cake pan. This is because I have a real small oven. Buns were easier to decorate and no messy sticky spills! Sides are softer too. Just make sure you remove from pan right after baking or the bottom will become soggy from the condensation. For the glaze, I used honey diluted with a small amount of water. Works just as well!
Huiboon
Singapore
4/13/2012
Doubled this to make 24 very nice nice buns. They fit perfectly on a half sheet pan. I used a few more ounces of dried fruit than called for - the 4 mentioned in the blurb - and replaced half the nutmeg for cardamon, but other than that, I stayed true. On the first rise, the dough seemed a little heavy, so I added a couple tablespoons more of water before rolling them (each roll was 3 oz.)and placing on the sheet. After that, I stuck them in the fridge till morning, when I would continue the rise. They did take quite a while on the second rise, but maybe that's because I stalled them in the fridge? Anyway, I took them out of the oven at 15 min., but later decided they needed 20. Immediately, my whole family, "Noooo! They were perfect!" So, I guess they liked them a little on the heavy side. Weight aside, the flavor was absolutely delicious!
hoosrmlkmk
Indiana
4/8/2012
I used this dough as the basis for monkey bread for Christmas morning 2011. I didn't use any of the spices, and added a little more orange zest and about 2 tbsp more water, but the dough was otherwise unchanged. The texture was perfect for monkey bread: fluffy and rich without being heavy or excessively sweet.
Noumena
12/26/2011
Lovely buns! I used 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup oat flour, 1 cup spelt, and the rest white whole wheat. THey are terrific! Very light and the orange zest is delicious. I used 1/3 cup currants and 1/3 dried blueberries. Mine cooked perfectly in 15 mintues. Next time I think I will make 10 or 12 instead of 8. With some major oven spring these were huge.
fg7
Fort Worth, Texas
4/20/2011
I have made this recipe three years in a row now, at Easter and also at Christmastime because they make the perfect morning bun. I like to vary the fruit and I prefer to leave off the jam because a egg wash makes the buns look so nice and that way they can be sliced open and toasted if you’re not eating them fresh out of the oven. I agree with some of the other reviews that a yield of 12 makes a perfectly sized bun, dividing into 8 or 10 buns - which I’ve tried make for some pretty generous ones. Really great recipe.
Alexia
Nashville, TN
4/7/2023
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