Hot Cross Buns Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a good hot cross bun? ›

A traditional Hot Cross bun should be topped with a slightly sticky glaze to make them glorious shiny and a cross. Some people pipe the cross, others roll out a little pastry to make a slightly thicker, neater one. It should be plain though, just flour and water (we will tackle the thorny problem of novelty shortly).

Also you need to leave enough time for the chilled dough to prove before baking, which can take longer than for a regular second prove as it needs to warm up enough for the yeast to become active again. However, hot cross buns are not meant to be as light and spongy as a regular bread loaf.

They're yeasted sweet buns filled with spices and various fruits such as currants, raisins, and/or candied citrus. They're decorated with a white cross representing the crucifix, either marked right into the dough or etched on top with icing. Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food, typically eaten on Good Friday.

Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).

Goat's cheese, fig and rosemary

2. Halve and toast the hot cross bun and spread both sides with goat's cheese. Add the fresh fig or spoon over the dried figs. Drizzle the fresh fig with honey or the dried fig with some of the syrup and add some finely chopped fresh rosemary.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

There could be a number of reasons why your hot cross buns turn out heavy or even hard. The most common reasons are as follows: Over kneading – this is more likely to happen if you use an electric mixer and dough hook. If you over knead dough it will break down the glutens and make the buns hard.

Very overproofed dough just gets sloppy to work with and won't hold its form as well, and makes denser bread. It's delicious and probably especially nutritious.

Your hot cross buns are made entirely out of vegetable products so there's no need for anyone to pray over the batter while the baker stirs in currants and citrus peel. The stamp on the package simply signals to Muslims that it's okay to eat those buns — not that someone prayed over them.

The buns mark the end of Lent and different parts of the hot cross bun have a certain meaning, including the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, and the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him at his burial. They are now available all year round in some places.

What is the original hot cross bun? ›

The so-called 'Alban Bun' was made with flour, eggs, yeast, currants and an expensive spice similar to cardamom fittingly called grains of paradise. Imprinted with a cross using a knife, the lavish buns were supposedly distributed to the poor at the gates of St Alban's Abbey from 1361.

“Toasting your HCB is the correct way. Microwaving your HCB is for psychos. While yes, they sort of resemble fruit toast, HCBs have embellishments that you don't find in fruit toast, e.g. the cross and the fancy glaze. Toasting gives a nice, firm, crunchy surface for optimal butter spreading.

The cross is usually piped using a flour and water paste but can also be made from shortcrust pastry. For Christians, the cross represents the crucifixion of Jesus. The spices inside the buns symbolise the spices put on the body of Jesus after he died. The buns are best served hot, hence how they received their name.

Hot cross buns have been synonymous with Easter celebrations since they appeared in 12th century England. Interestingly, hot cross buns pre-date Christianity, with their origins in paganism.

WITH each year that passes, the flavours in which you can buy a hot cross bun becomes more and more extraordinary. Fast forward to Easter 2024 and you can get everything from banoffee and Belgian chocolate, to sticky toffee and strawberries and clotted cream.

It's because a microwaved hot cross bun is how a hot cross bun is truly meant to be enjoyed. You're bringing the bun back to how the bakers originally intended it to be eaten – straight from the oven, warm and gooey on the inside.

One of the greatest things about the trusty hot cross bun is that you can enjoy them hot or cold and sweet or savoury.

The white topping on hot cross buns is typically a mixture of flour and water, which is piped onto the buns before baking. This creates the iconic cross shape and adds a slightly chewy texture to the top of the bun.