Easter Hot Cross Buns

It’s never officially spring without having your first hot cross bun! This year, why not make your own, which you can show off to family and friends. Connect with your children and take an afternoon to teach them how to make these doughy, fruit-filled loafs of joy. Nothing beats homemade goods, made with love. 

Hot Cross Buns 

Ingredients for the bun:

  • 300ml of full-fat milk,
  • 50g butter,
  • 500g strong bread flour,
  • 1 tsp salt,
  • 75g caster sugar,
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 
  • 7g sathet fast-action or easy-blend yeast,
  • 1 egg,
  • 75g sultanas,
  • 50g mixed peel,
  • 1 orange zest
  • 1 apple (peeled, cored and finely chopped),
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon,
  • 1 tsp mixed spice. 

Ingredients for the cross:

  • 75g plain flour,
  • 5 tbsp water, 
  • Bessie’s Apricot and Almond jam.
  1. In a pan, bring the full-fat milk to a boil.
  2. Once brought to a boil, take off the heat and add the butter so it melts in the milk and leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature.
  3. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl (strong bread flour, salt, caster sugar, and yeast) and mix thoroughly until evenly distributed. 
  4. Make a well in the dry ingredient mixture, and pour in the milk and butter combination with an egg
  5. Mix well together until you have a sticky dough
  6. Lightly dust a surface with flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth, then let the dough rest in an oil-covered bowl so it can rise (this should take an hour). 
  7. Once risen to double its original size, add the fruit and spices (sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple, mixed spice and cinnamon). 
  8. Knead dough until everything is distributed evenly and let rest for another hour in an oil-covered bowl (or until doubled in size). 
  9. Divide into 15 pieces (75g per piece) and roll into a small ball and arrange them in a tray, lined with parchment. Use a clean tea towel and cover the hot cross buns, and then leave for another hour to prove.

 

  1. For the cross on the buns, you will need to gradually add the water to the 75g of plain flour a tbsp at a time. You want to end up with a thick paste. 
  2. Use a piping bag with a small hole cut off at the bottom and pipe a cross over each hot cross bun. 
  3. Now put the hot cross buns in the oven at 200 degrees celsius and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. 
  4. Once they have been brought out of the oven, you can glaze Bessie’s Apricot and Almond jam over the top of the hot cross buns to give the buns a glossy finish.

 

Now you should have 15 hot cross buns you can share with your friends and family! But don’t forget to pair your hot cross buns with Bessie’s raspberry or strawberry jam, which will go absolutely perfectly with your buns. Ideal for a light and easy snack or for those busy mornings, in which you want something quick and easy. 

 

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