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Home » Breads » Simple Hot Cross Buns

Simple Hot Cross Buns

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These simple & easy Hot Cross Buns are softly spiced and just fabulous with an enriched yeasted dough. Served warm and slathered in butter they really are divine.

hot cross buns on a wire rack with twigs with small easter eggs hanging on them and cupcakes to the back

These Spiced Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. The eating of Hot Cross Buns signifies the ending of Lent as they are made with dairy food stuffs, something that is forbidden during this time. The white cross piped onto the buns is obviously rooted in Christianity and the rise of Christ.

All that cinnamon wafting around my kitchen makes me giddy for the whole warm with salted butter experience. I want it dripping from my chin baby.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

They are made with a fabulously enriched dough that does take longer to prove than a standard bread dough so I always try to do it when I am in the house for at least five hours straight otherwise I get stressed about getting the proving right.

*There is a full printable recipe card below*

I use a 30cm x 20 cm baking tin but you can also use a bigger one or simply a lined flat baking tray.

Ingredients

  • 500 grams strong white bread flour
  • 1tsp salt
  • 2 x 7grams instant dried yeast
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1tsp mixed spice
  • 2tsp cinnamon
  • 100 grams butter
  • 200 mls milk
  • 80 grams caster sugar (can be granulated)
  • 3 medium eggs (one is for the egg eash)
  • 75 grams raisins
  • 3tbsp flour & 3tbsp water for the white paste cross

Method

  • Place the 500 grams of flour, tsp of salt (put over the other side of the bowl to the yeast), 2 x 7 grams instant dried yeast and 80 grams of sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  • Melt the 100 grams butter with the 200 mls milk gently in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the spices, stir & set aside.
flour, sugar amd yeast in a large metal bowl, dark liquid in a jug containing cinnamon, mixed spice and milk and a pink small bowl with beaten eggs in it.
  • Add the buttery, spiced milk to the flour etc along with the 2 beaten eggs.
  • Mix until the dough comes together and then knead or use a dough hook to knead the dough until it is smooth and slightly stretchy.
beige dough in a large steel mixing dough
  • Add more milk if your dough is not wet enough.
  • Cover your bowl with clingfilm or whatever you like to use. I have a shower cap! Leave somewhere warm to double in size for 1-2 hours.
dough after first prove
  • Knock the dough back by punching the air out of it in the bowl and then removing it from the bowl and giving it a little knead.
  • I roughly roll it out using a rolling pin into a rough rectangle and sprinkle over the 75 grams of sultanas/raisins.
hot cross bun dough rectangle with raisins sprinkled on top.
  • Roll it up and then knead the whole dough for a few minutes so that the raisins get distributed through out.
  • Weigh your dough and work out how much each bun needs to weigh to make 12 buns.
dough on a wooden chopping board with a small aount of dough on digital scales
  •  I roll the dough into balls by using my hands in a cupping motion on the work surface or by pulling the dough tight from the top to the bottom like a draw stringed purse.
  • This does tend to give a smoother finish. I do remove any naked raisins sticking out. as they will burn.
hot cross buns in a lined baking tray
  • Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave somewhere warm to puff up. It can take up to an hour.
hot cross buns puffed up after second prove in a baking tray
  • I brush them with a beaten egg as wash before piping over my white cross. I make this by mixing water to the flour to make a sticky paste that will hold it's shape when piped.
  •  I think the easiest way to pipe is to use disposable piping bags and snip the end so that you have about a 3mm hole.
hot cross buns with piped white crosses in a baking tray
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until turning a deep brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom. Not the easiest thing to do I grant you but carefully give it a go.
hot cross buns on a wire rack with cupcakes in the backgoround along with a jar of sugar

Tips & Tricks

  • keep the white paste as thin as possible because it can bake up hard and if there is too much of it then it will be unpleasant
  • thin the white paste with an extra splash of water if it seems too thick
  • watch the tops of the buns don't burn towards the end of the baking
  • you can use a bigger tin if you want it can even be a flat tray just watch the baking time as they will bake faster than if they are in a tin with sides.

Here are some more easy Easter recipes.

Mini Egg Pavlova

Easter Chocolate Cake.

Mini Egg Easter Cookies

Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

hot cross buns

Simple Hot Cross Buns.

Apply To Face Blog
So here is a fabulous and simple Hot Cross Buns recipe for Easter. This recipe is as straightforward as Hot Cross Buns get and produces a delicious, warmly spiced, sweet bun filled with raisins. They are incredible when served warm and slathered in butter.
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Proving time 3 hours hrs
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Buns
Cuisine English
Servings 12
Calories 291 kcal

Ingredients
 

Buns

  • 500 grams strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 x 7 grams instant dried yeast
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100 grams melted butter unsalted
  • 200 mls milk
  • 80 grams caster sugar
  • 3 medium eggs one for egg wash.
  • 75 grams raisins

White paste cross

  • 3 tbsps plain flour
  • 3 ½ tbsps water

Instructions
 

Bread dough

  • Put 200 mls milk and 100 grams butter with all the spices into a sauce pan and simmer gently until all the butter is melted. Set aside to cool a little. If it is too hot when it goes in the flour it will kill the yeast.
    Beat two of the eggs in a small bowl or mug and do the same for the last egg in a separate container.
  • I use a free standing mixer but you could do the same by hand. Put  500 grams flour, 1 tsp salt, 7g x 2 instant yeast and 80 grams caster sugar into your large mixing bowl.
    Take care to put the salt and yeast on opposite sides.
  • Pour the contents of the saucepan into the big mixing bowl as well as the two beaten eggs. Mix with the dough hook on a medium speed for five mins or knead by hand for ten. The dough should be soft and elastic. Oil your bowl and cover until doubled in size. I usually find that this takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  • Tip out the dough and pull out to a rough rectangle. Scatter all the raisins across it and gently roll up and knead for a few mins until the raisins are evenly dispersed.
  • Weigh the dough and divide by 12 or 13. Roll into balls and place on a lined baking tray (I use a 30cm x 20 cm baking tin) a little apart to allow for puffing up. Remove any naked raisins on the top of your rolls.
  • Cover with oiled clingfilm and put somewhere warm to prove again. See pics. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
    Mix the flour and water vigorously together for your flour paste. When gloriously puffed up brush gently with the single beaten egg wash all over and pipe or use a spoon to drizzle over the crosses. This can be a little tricky but stay strong.
  • Bake for about 15 minutes until browned and burnished.
  • Apply to Easter Face.

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.9mg

All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.

Keyword hot cross buns
Tried this recipe?Take a pic and tag @applytofaceblog on Instagram. I would so love to see them!

 

 

Do let me know how you got on in the comments below . I love a good old hairy chin wag.

 
 

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Comments

  1. HELEN

    March 29, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    these buns look fab Jen! I wonder how I would feel stood at the entrance of RHS, as I haven't been there in over 30 years. I think I'd probably get the shakes & make a run for it !!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      March 30, 2018 at 8:37 am

      Thanks Helen,I do love a nice bun ?

      Reply
  2. Monika

    March 30, 2018 at 8:25 am

    The more hot cross buns recipes I see the more I am convinced that it's time I made my own. These look really pretty, neat and small and, as you say, seem quite easy to make. Thank you for bringing them to #CookBlogShare. Happy Easter!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      March 30, 2018 at 8:36 am

      Thanks Monika.They really are.I have tried lots of recipes but they were never as soft and tasty as I wanted so I experimented with enriching the dough as much as I could.I'm making another batch this morning ???

      Reply
  3. Kat (The Baking Explorer)

    April 03, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    They look stunning and perfectly baked!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      April 04, 2018 at 6:25 am

      Thanks Kat!I have so got a thing about Buns ??

      Reply
  4. Louise

    April 08, 2019 at 8:01 pm

    5 stars
    Ooohhh I love a good bun , they look gorgeous

    Reply
5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Hi, I'm Jenny Walters. A mother of two and passionate filler of bellies with stress free, simple and delicious recipes that gladden the soul. I am at heart a home cook.

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