I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes with you guys today! I LOVE Hot Cross Buns!! Just in time to make them next Friday for Good Friday!
I mean, what could be better than a warm homemade bun filled with yummy spices and currants and topped with a lovely butter icing?!
Over the past few years around Easter, I have seen many Hot Cross Buns for sale at the grocery store as well as recipes for them that have a cross made of a white flour and water dough instead of icing. How could people eat these buns without the icing!?! Isn't the icing everyone's favourite part!?!? When I was little, I would only eat Hot Cross Buns for the icing!! I have now come to appreciate and fully enjoy every part of these delicious seasonal treats!
Since I couldn't find any with icing, I decided that I must make them myself! And that's exactly what I did. I made these for the first time 3 years ago and have made them every Easter since then!
I use dried currants in my buns but you could use raisins or candied citrus peel if you prefer.
These buns also smell AMAZING when they are baking!! Speaking of baking, they only take 15 minutes in the oven!
Make these Hot Cross Buns this Easter, you won't be disappointed!
If you make this recipe, I invite you to please share an honest review and rating in the comments below, and share on social media using my hashtag: #kneadsomesweets! Thank you for supporting Knead Some Sweets!
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Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ¾ cup warm milk (110℉)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 - 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup dried currants
- zest of 1 orange
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Icing:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 1 - 1 ½ tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Stir together the warm milk and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes, it should bubble and get frothy. Next, add 3 cups of the flour, salt, spices, and (more) sugar in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the butter, eggs, frothy yeast/milk mixture, currants, and orange zest and stir until it forms a loose ball of dough, adding more flour as needed. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, it will still be slightly sticky. Place in a greased bowl and let rise covered for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, press down the dough to deflate and cut in half and then cut each half into 8 equal pieces, making 16 in total. Shape each piece of dough into a bun and place 1 ½ inches apart on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper OR arrange in a greased 9X13-inch baking pan for soft-edged buns. Cut a cross into the top of each bun using a serrated knife. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash. When the buns are done rising, brush the tops with the egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. While the buns are cooling down slightly, whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar, and milk to combine. Fill a sandwich bag with the icing and snip off a small hole in the corner and pipe into the cross cuts on the mostly cooled buns. These buns are great served while still warm. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes
Love and cookies,
Naomi
If you make this Hot Cross Buns recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Hashtag them #kneadsomesweets! Click here to browse all of my recipes!!
I too used my bread maker and a 9x13 pan, the flavour and density of these buns is perfect! A definite addition to our Holy Week baking traditions.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Happy Easter!
Naomi
I don't know if I've ever actually made hot cross buns before today! I threw everything in my bread maker (forgive me for bypassing the hand kneading!) and let it do the work. Almost forgot the raisins and orange peel, but the bread maker just kept doing its mixing thing while I grabbed a handful or two of raisins and quickly grated the orange peel over the pan. 😃 I set the timer for 12 minutes but should have been watching more closely since mine are definitely darker than yours. They taste great though--and probably aren't going to be around for breakfast on Resurrection Sunday. Another great recipe, Naomi.
Sounds great!! I'm glad this recipe was a success for you!
Thank you for the 5-star review!!
Naomi
Hot cross buns are our tradition for the Thursday of Holy Week, and I was so pleased that even my husband enjoyed this recipe (he has not been a big fan of the ones I've made from other recipes). We love the spices in the dough! I wasn't quite sure when to add the milk/yeast mixture to the flour mixture, so I ended up adding it with the butter and eggs, and it seemed to work just fine. I used candied citrus peel instead of currents, and I also baked the buns in a 9x13" glass casserole dish (divided dough into 15 pieces) because I like having buns with soft edges. Great recipe, Naomi! I definitely plan on baking these again next Easter!
I love that tradition! Yes, you are correct in adding the yeast/milk at that step. I apologize for missing that in the recipe, I will fix it now.
Glad to hear that you loved this recipe and I like the idea of baking them in a 9x13" pan, in fact, I'm making mine like that today!
Naomi