Hot Cross Buns Recipe
An old-fashioned recipe for sweetly spiced and soft Hot Cross Buns.
Servings: 15 buns
Calories: 283kcal
Equipment
- 25 x 30cm (or slightly larger) baking pan
- small ziplock bag or piping bag
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 670 grams plain flour or bread flour (4 ¾ cups)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 60 grams butter, chopped into cubes (3 tablespoons)
- 75 grams caster sugar (⅓ cup)
- 7 grams dry yeast (1 sachet)
- 1 egg (70 gram egg)
- 125 ml Greek yoghurt (½ cup)
- 250 ml warm water (1 cup)
- 225 grams mixed dried fruit (1 ⅓ cups)
For crosses:
- 60 grams plain flour (½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- ¼ cup cold water
For glaze:
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Grease the baking pan.
- Sift flour, salt and spices into a mixing bowl.
- Rub the butter into the flour and spice mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs (and no lumps of butter are left).
- Stir in the caster sugar and yeast.
- In a separate bowl, add the egg, yoghurt and warm water. Whisk with a fork to combine. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to a dough.
- Knead dough until smooth, soft and stretchy (but not sticky). This should take about 5 minutes on low speed in a stand mixer with a dough hook or using your hands on the kitchen bench. If the dough is sticky, add a small amount of plain flour and continue to knead. If the dough seems too dry (and isn't holding together) add a small amount of warm water and continue to knead.
- Add the mixed fruit and knead until the fruit is evenly distributed in the dough.
- Divide into 15 equal portions. (If you have kitchen scales: weighing the dough, divide by 15 and then weigh each portion to ensure accuracy). Roll each portion into a ball.
- Place balls into the baking pan, organising in 3 rows of 5.
- Cover the baking pan with oiled clingwrap (oiled side down) and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Halfway into the rise, pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius/430 degrees fahrenheit (fan-forced).
- When the rise is complete, make the cross mixture by combining all cross ingredients into a smooth paste. Place into a small ziplock bag or piping bag and cut off the tip so you have an approximately 3mm wide hole. Pipecrosses onto buns, going at a slow and steady pace.
- Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees celsius/390 degrees fahrenheit. Bake for a further 12-15 minutes or until the buns are a deep golden brown colour.
- About 5 minutes before the buns are ready to be removed from the oven, make the glaze by combining the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, bringing to a simmer and simmering for 2 minutes.
- Brush tops of buns with glaze, using a pastry brush, immediately after removing the buns from the oven.
- Remove buns from the pan once they have cooled a little and allow to cool on a wire tray.
- Serve while warm or allow to cool and then serve split, toasted and buttered.
Notes
Storing: Store at room temperature. Best enjoyed within 24 hours of baking.
Freezing: Freeze, well wrapped, for up to a few months.
Nutrition: The nutrition information is an automatically generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Nutrition
Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 115mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg