Hot cross buns
- Published: 31 Mar 05
- Updated: 27 May 25
Soft, doughy hot cross buns, still slightly warm from the oven, are a classic Easter treat. Make them from scratch with our simple recipe.
Or, check out our collection of stand-out hot cross bun recipes for more delicious Easter creations.
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Makes 12 buns -
Hands on time 45 minutes, oven time 15 minutes, plus proving
Ingredients
- 625g strong white flour
- 45g chilled butter
- 45g golden caster sugar, plus 2 extra tbsp
- 1 tsp each salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 1 egg
- 275ml milk, plus 4 extra tbsp
- 100g raisins
- 25g chopped mixed peel
- Oil, for greasing
delicious. tips
These days, using yeast is simple, as all modern brands of easy-blend yeast are just stirred into the dry ingredients. (If you like to use fresh yeast, this will need to be creamed with a little of the warmed milk before being added to the dry ingredients.)
As with all breadmaking, you need strong white flour so that the gluten stands up to the kneading; this ensures you have a lighter dough when it rises.
Always use a glass or ceramic bowl for proving dough. Don’t use a metal bowl because metal is a good conductor of heat and it can cause the dough to rise too quickly. A warm kitchen is just the place for proving yeast doughs. If the kitchen is cold, pop the oven onto its lowest setting and sit the covered bowl of dough on the open oven door.
This is a classic recipe, but if you fancy a change, try chopped glacé cherries and chopped, dried apricots in place of the raisins and peel. A grating of fresh orange zest also adds some extra zing.