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Hot Cross Buns
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Hot Cross Buns

The traditional Easter fruit bread, super soft with spices and dried fruit
Course Breakfast
Cuisine British
Keyword Bread
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Resting time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 320kcal
Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 500 g Strong white bread flour
  • 7g Dried fast action yeast 1 sachet
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp Mixed spice
  • 60 g Caster sugar also known as superfine sugar
  • 285 ml Semi skimmed milk or whole milk
  • 75 g Butter unsalted
  • 1 Egg large
  • 250 g Mixed dried fruit

For the 'cross'

  • 50 g Strong white bread flour
  • ¼ tsp Caster sugar
  • 4-5 tbsp Water

For the glaze

  • 2 tbsp Golden syrup warmed

Instructions

  • In a small pan heat up the milk and butter, once the butter is melted take it off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes
  • Place the mixed dried fruit into a small bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover it, leave to soak for 10 minutes, then drain the water off
  • Put the strong white bread flour, fast action yeast, cinnamon, mixed spice, salt and sugar in a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Make sure that the salt and the yeast do not directly touch each other. Stir the mixture together
  • Pour the cooled butter and milk mixture into the flour mixture, then add the egg too. Mix it either with a wooden spoon, or ideally in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, until a dough forms
  • Knead the dough for 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured surface (it is a wet dough so don't be tempted to overly flour it) or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for 8 minutes
  • You can add the fruit at this stage if you like, or add it later
  • Place the dough in a bowl brushed with olive oil, cover it with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 90 - 120 minutes until doubled in size
  • Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, if you haven't added the fruit yet, add it now and knead it into the dough until evenly distributed
  • Cut the dough up into 12 equal pieces, weigh them for accuracy if you like, mine weighed 104g each. Roll them into balls and place them onto a lightly oiled baking tray. Cover the tray with oiled cling film, then leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour and 15 minutes
  • Before the dough is finished proving, pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6, and make the flour paste for the cross on the buns by mixing the strong white bread flour with the sugar and water until a thick paste forms. Put it in a piping bag and snip off the end
  • Use the piping bag to draw the crosses along the dough buns, follow the curves of the buns as you pipe it
  • Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top
  • Warm the golden syrup on the hob in a small pan, and brush on top of the buns as soon as they come out of the oven to give them a lovely shiny and sticky sweet glaze
  • Serve immediately, store fully cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days

Video

Notes

  • Strong bread flour is the best option for bread as it is high in protein which assists in the forming of gluten - a protein that creates the rise in bread, as well as creating the lovely bread texture that we all know and love. You can also make this recipe with regular plain flour, the bread may just rise a little less.
  • Mixed spice is a British spice blend typically containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead. Or try 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground cloves stirred together.
  • The milk and butter should be lukewarm or tepid before you add it to the flour, this essentially means room temperature which is around 18C to 23C. It's important not to add it when it's hot (above 30C) as this will most likely kill the yeast and your bread will not rise.
  • I used dried mixed fruit which includes lemon and orange peel. Some people aren't a fan of peel, so instead you can use the same weight of dried raisins or sultanas, and add the zest of one orange and one lemon to the dough if you still want that citrus flavour.
  • You don't have to soak the dried fruit, but I do recommend doing it as it helps it taste better and also stops it from burning in the oven.
  • You can use either semi-skimmed or whole milk for this recipe.
  • If you are kneading the dough in your stand mixer, pop it into the bowl of your mixer and set it on a low speed with the dough hook attachment. Leave it to knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple, and comes away from the side of the bowl easily.
  • For more information on bread making, including a guide on how to knead by hand and lots of tips and tricks, check out my White Bread Loaf recipe.
  • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
  • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg