A traditional Easter treat, hot cross buns from scratch are so much better than the ones at the grocery store! Sweet, lightly spiced, and mouth-wateringly fragrant, these soft homemade buns brushed with a powdered sugar glaze are best served warm. They get a delicious flavor and aroma from a trio of ground spices- cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
Usually, the cross that gives this sweet bread its name is made from an easy mixture of flour and water and piped onto the dough before baking. You can skip this step if you like and make the cross out of a thick glaze instead, as I’ll explain in the Pro Tips section. For more Easter recipes, try my Easter bread, koulourakia, or carrot cake.
What you need to make this recipe
Dried fruit — you need raisins or dried currants for the buns. They get a quick soak in hot water to plump them up.
Leavening — yeast, activated with warm milk and sugar, helps the buns rise. Be sure to use active dry yeast, not rapid-rise or instant yeast.
Butter — opt for unsalted butter so the buns don’t turn out too salty.
Eggs — you need 2 large eggs: one for the dough and one to make an egg wash. Bring the one for the dough to room temperature before starting the recipe.
Flour — bread flour or all-purpose flour works great in this hot cross bun recipe. Using bread flour will yield a chewier bun that stays softer for longer.
Spices — salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg add a warm, comforting flavor to the buns.
Crosses — to make the crosses, you only need all-purpose flour and water to form a paste.
Glaze — a simple glaze made of confectioners’ sugar and warm water adds the perfect sweetness to this hot cross bun recipe. Confectioners’ sugar also goes by the names icing sugar and powdered sugar.
How to make hot cross buns
1. Rehydrate the currants or raisins in a bowl with boiling water for 10 minutes before draining well and setting aside while you make the dough.
2. Activate the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer by stirring together the warm whole milk, ½ teaspoon sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes or until it’s very foamy on top.
3. Add the rest of the sugar, 1 egg, and melted butter to the yeast mixture.
4. Then add the bread flour or all-purpose flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed to start combining the ingredients. Once the ingredients are mostly incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing until an elastic dough has formed that makes a slapping sound against the sides of the bowl. The dough should feel tacky but should not stick to your fingers when you touch it.
5. Add in the drained, soaked dried fruit and knead for 30 seconds.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat the dough in oil. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking, and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.
8. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray or butter. Place the balls of dough into the pan, equidistant from each other. Cover and let the dough rise again until they are almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 375°F. Once the buns have risen, beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water or milk to make an egg wash and brush the tops of the buns lightly.
9. Make the easy cross topping by stirring together the flour and water in a small bowl until a thick paste forms. Transfer the paste to a piping bag or a ziptop bag with one corner cut off. Pipe a straight line through the center of each bun. Repeat, making the second set of lines perpendicular to the first set, forming a cross on top of each bun. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let the soft hot cross buns cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
10. Make the glaze in a small bowl by whisking together powdered sugar and water until smooth. Brush the glaze over the warm rolls before serving. Enjoy!
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Use fresh ingredients. If your yeast has expired, the buns won’t rise well. Always check the date before starting a yeasted bread recipe. If the yeast doesn’t get very foamy after 15 minutes in the warm milk, start over with fresh yeast.
- For additional flavor: Add orange zest (the zest of 1 orange) to the dough when adding the drained currants or raisins. You can also add other spices like ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom or cloves.
- Raisins substitute: Instead of raisins or currants, you can use other dried fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, diced apricots, or diced candied fruit like orange peel. You could also add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts.
- For a glaze cross instead of a flour paste cross, brush the buns with egg wash as directed in the recipe and bake, skipping the flour paste. Once the buns are baked and cool, make a thick glaze that you can pipe by whisking together 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or water and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag and pipe crosses on the top of each bun.
Frequently asked questions
Easter is a significant day for those in the Christian faith, and the cross on top of each bun symbolizes the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Hot cross buns are usually eaten on Good Friday, after Lent.
After the first rise, cover the dough with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. Follow the recipe as directed until you place the dough balls into the prepared baking dish. Instead of letting the dough do its second rise, cover and refrigerate the baking dish. When you’re ready to bake the next day, take the pan out of the fridge, let the dough balls come to room temperature, and rise in a warm place. Be patient; this can take up to 3 hours, depending on how warm or cool your kitchen is! Once the dough balls appear visibly puffed, brush with egg wash and bake as directed.
While these simple hot cross buns are best eaten on the same day, you can store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat the buns in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds or in the oven or air fryer at 350°F for a few minutes.
I like freezing individual buns by wrapping each one tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator, then place on a baking sheet and reheat at 350°F for about 5 minutes.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this hot cross buns recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Hot Cross Buns
Video
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ⅔ cup raisins or dried currants (80g)
- 1 cup warm milk (240mL)
- ½ cup granulated sugar plus ½ teaspoon (50g)
- 1 (.25oz/7g) package active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (85g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature (divided)
- 3¾ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (450g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Crosses:
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (40g)
- 3 tablespoons water
For the Glaze:
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar (30g)
- 1 tablespoon warm water
Instructions
- Place the currants or raisins in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let soak for 10 minutes, then drain well and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, Stir together the milk, ½ teaspoon sugar and the yeast. Let the mixture sit until it’s very foamy on top, about 10 minutes.
- To the yeast mixture, add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, 1 egg and the melted butter. Then add the flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed to start combining. Once the ingredients are mostly incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing until a tacky and elastic dough has formed and is making a “slapping” sound against the sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes. (The dough may still cling to the very bottom of the bowl and should feel tacky but not stick to you when you touch it.)
- Mix in the drained raisins and knead for 30 more seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat the dough in oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray or butter.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. To shape each piece into a ball, gather the edges into the center and pinch them together. Flip the ball over, cup your hand around it, and move your hand in a circular motion. This will create tight smooth dough balls.
- Place the dough balls in the prepared pan spacing them equally apart. Cover and let rise again until they are almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- After 45 minutes of rise time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- When the buns have risen, beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water or milk and brush the tops lightly with egg wash.
For the Cross Topping:
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour and water until a thick paste forms. Transfer it to a piping bag or a ziptop bag with one corner cut off.
- Pipe the a straight line through the center of each bun. Repeat making the second set of line perpendicular to the first set, forming a cross on top of each bun.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
For the Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and water until smooth. Brush the glaze over the warm rolls before serving.
Notes
- Use fresh ingredients. If your yeast has expired, the buns won’t rise well. Always check the date before starting a yeasted bread recipe. If the yeast doesn’t get very foamy after 15 minutes in the warm milk, start over with fresh yeast.
- For additional flavor: Add orange zest (the zest of 1 orange) to the dough when adding the drained currants or raisins. You can also add other spices like ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom or cloves.
- Raisins substitute: Instead of raisins or currants, you can use other dried fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, diced apricots, or diced candied fruit like orange peel. You could also add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts.
- For a glaze cross instead of a flour paste cross, brush the buns with egg wash as directed in the recipe and bake, skipping the flour paste. Once the buns are baked and cool, make a thick glaze that you can pipe by whisking together 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or water and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag and pipe crosses on the top of each bun.
