Soft and with a touch of spices and packed with dried fruit, hot cross buns are usually a Good Friday treat. Skip the cross marked on top and enjoy these buns year round
Every year, as Easter approaches my mind start thinking about different Eater bread recipes. Last year I’ve shared with you a recipe for Romanian Easter bread (Pasca) , Italian Easter bread (Pane di Pasqua) and Greek Eater bread (Tsoureki). Well, today we’re visiting the Great Britain to enjoy a cup of tea with their well know Easter bread – Hot Cross Buns.
If you have never made a hot cross buns, prepare yourself to have your kitchen filled with an irresistible aroma of fresh-baked bread, spices and sweetness. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom added to the dough give these buns a nice spicy touch, while the sugar and the dried fruit bring sweetness.
I’ve read a few stories where the name actually comes from and it seems the most popular story is related to the Anglo-Saxons. The story says they were making the buns in honor of their goddess of light, Eostre, whose day was celebrating in Spring.
Other stories include a few superstitions. Hot cross buns baked and served on Good Friday do not spoil or mold during the year. Keeping a bun in your kitchen until next year to ensure all breads will rise and bake perfectly.
Other stories advice to keep a bun for medical purposes. Some say, if a piece of the bun is gives to a sick person, they will immediately recover.
There are so many stories, I have no idea which one is actually the real one, but it’s sure is fun reading about them. What’s better than reading, is actually making hot cross buns and enjoying them with a cup of tea.
Some recipes for hot cross buns suggest marking the cross before baking and filling it with a paste made from flour, water and shortening. Other recipes have the cross marked but filled right after they are baked with a sweet sugary filling. I prefer mine to be marked after they are baked and cooled.
You have to keep in mind when making the cross that the buns must be completely cooled. No warmth or the icing will melt.
Optional, if you prefer a darker color for your buns, you can brush them with egg wash (egg yolk mixed with few drops of water) before baking or if you prefer a sweet and shiny top, you can brush the buns with a sugar syrup as soon as you take them out of the oven.
My preference is to leave the buns plain. I do not brush them either with egg wash or sugar. The sugar added to the dough brings enough sweetness to the dough to give them a nice brownish color once baked.
Hot cross buns recipe
Yields 12 buns
Soft and with a touch of spices and packed with dried fruit, hot cross buns are usually a Good Friday treat. Skip the cross marked on top and enjoy these buns year round
20 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
4 hrTotal Time
Save Recipe
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Buns
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon spices ( I used a combination of cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. You can use whatever combination you prefer)
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 envelope dry yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter, diced
- 1/2 cup raisins and currants combined
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powder sugar
- few drops of water
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour and spices. Make a well in the middle and pour in the 1/4 cup lukewarm milk.
- Sprinkle the dry yeast on top of the milk and let it rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved and bubbles appear at the surface.
- In a small saucepan, add the remaining 1 cup of milk along with the butter, salt and sugar. Cook over low heat, just until the butter has melted. Do not boil!!!
- Once the yeast has dissolved, attach the dough hook to the mixer and turn it on at the lowest speed.
- Slowly pour the warm milk.
- With the mixer on low speed, keep kneading the dough until all the flour is incorporated.
- Increase the mixer's speed to medium-low and let it knead the dough for 5 more minutes.
- With buttered hands, remove the dough from the mixer and gently fold in the raisins and cranberries.
- Shape the dough in a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes or until doubled in volume.
- Once the dough has risen, divide it into 12 pieces.
- Shape each piece into a ball and place it on a baking sheet.
- Cover again with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 more minutes.
- Meanwhile heat the oven to 375F.
- Bake the buns in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove the buns from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar with a few drops of water, enough to form a thick paste.
- Spoon the icing in a ziploc bag, cut a small corner and mark the cross on top of the cooled buns.
7.6.8
522
http://atreatsaffair.com/hot-cross-buns-recipe/
Roxana Yawgel http://atreatsaffair.com/ All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
If you liked these hot cross buns, you may also like
Romanian Easter bread (Pasca)
Italian Easter bread (Pane di Pasqua)
Greek Eater bread (Tsoureki)
FAQs
CHECK YOUR YEAST expiry date – The #1 problem because most people don't bake with yeast very often, and yeast does go off! If your yeast is past its expiry date OR you've kept it in hot humid conditions (instead of fridge or freezer), your dough will not rise.
What does a traditional hot cross bun contain? ›
They're yeasted sweet buns filled with spices and various fruits such as currants, raisins, and/or candied citrus. They're decorated with a white cross representing the crucifix, either marked right into the dough or etched on top with icing. Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food, typically eaten on Good Friday.
Why are my hot cross buns so heavy? ›
There could be a number of reasons why your hot cross buns turn out heavy or even hard. The most common reasons are as follows: Over kneading – this is more likely to happen if you use an electric mixer and dough hook. If you over knead dough it will break down the glutens and make the buns hard.
What to do if dough doesn't rise enough? ›
But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.
What to do if your dough hasn't risen enough? ›
To fix dough that won't rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.
How unhealthy are hot cross buns? ›
Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).
Can Muslims eat hot cross buns? ›
Your hot cross buns are made entirely out of vegetable products so there's no need for anyone to pray over the batter while the baker stirs in currants and citrus peel. The stamp on the package simply signals to Muslims that it's okay to eat those buns — not that someone prayed over them.
Which country invented hot cross buns? ›
Hot cross buns have been synonymous with Easter celebrations since they appeared in 12th century England. Interestingly, hot cross buns pre-date Christianity, with their origins in paganism.
What is the original hot cross bun? ›
The so-called 'Alban Bun' was made with flour, eggs, yeast, currants and an expensive spice similar to cardamom fittingly called grains of paradise. Imprinted with a cross using a knife, the lavish buns were supposedly distributed to the poor at the gates of St Alban's Abbey from 1361.
Should you toast a hot cross bun? ›
“Toasting your HCB is the correct way. Microwaving your HCB is for psychos. While yes, they sort of resemble fruit toast, HCBs have embellishments that you don't find in fruit toast, e.g. the cross and the fancy glaze. Toasting gives a nice, firm, crunchy surface for optimal butter spreading.
They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified. Each bun is decorated with a cross made from flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died. The spices in hot cross buns are said to represent the spices that were used to embalm Christ after his death.
Is it better to toast or microwave hot cross buns? ›
Microwaves are where hot cross buns go to die a merciless, miserable death. Toasting not only caramelises the sugars in the fruit, but it gives the bun flavour while trapping some moisture inside so you're not left with a dry rubbery mess.
How do you spice up hot cross buns? ›
How do you eat yours? 6 new hot cross bun toppings to try
- Strawberry sundae. ...
- PBB: Peanut butter & banana. ...
- Cheesy melt. ...
- Tahini butter with pistachio. ...
- Cardamom cream. ...
- Maple butter.
How do you eat your Hot Cross Buns?
- Toasted with butter: This is the classic way to eat hot cross buns. ...
- With jam or marmalade: If you like your buns sweeter, try spreading some jam or marmalade on top of the butter.
- With cream cheese: For a tangy twist, spread some cream cheese on your hot cross bun.
The most common issue is not kneading enough between rises. The yeast cannot float through the dough, so it has to just eat the flour near it. If it exhausts that supply, it's stuck. Kneading the dough a bit - and it doesn't take much - puts the yeast and bacteria back in touch with fresh food.
How do you make buns rise higher? ›
Add ¼ teaspoon of ginger with the warm water when you are first proofing the yeast to help your bread rise higher and fluffier. It won't make your bread taste like ginger, either. Works for rolls, too.
How long should bun dough rise? ›
The dough rises in about 1-2 hours in a relatively warm environment. Punch down the dough to release the air and shape into rolls. Let the rolls rise for about 1 hour. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Save Recipe
