Simple Hot Cross Buns Recipe | Easter Bakes!

Hello lovelies,

So your probably thinking I’m a little premature starting my Easter content this early but I’ve got good reasoning okay… For the next 4 weeks, I’ll be uploading lots of yummy Easter Bakes!

Side Note: the next few weeks will be filled with indulgent bakes. I will continue with the healthier bakes once Easter is over. Easter is all about the unhealthy goodness!

Now let’s be honest… you can’t beat a good’old Hot Cross Bun! Wether it’s cold or toasted, these bad boys are delicious. Hot Cross Buns are defiantly something most of England look forward to coming out on the super market shelf’s. Once Christmas is over, it’s all about the Easter treats!

Something I’ve wanted to try for a while now is making my own Hot Cross Buns, as people always say homemade are best. So, guess what I’m sharing with you today? My Hot Cross Bun recipe. This has been trialled, tested and completed, so believe me when I say, it’s easier than you’d think!

---

Category: Sweet Treat

Serves: 10

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

First Proving Time: 2.5 Hours

Second Proving Time: 1 Hour

Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Overall Time: 4+ Hours

---

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• 500g Of Strong White Flour
• 75g Of White Caster Sugar
• 2tsp Of Mixed Spice
• 1tsp Of Cinnamon
• 40g Of Butter, Plus 1tsp For Greasing
• 1 Egg, Whisked
• 150g Of Sultanas
• 50g Of Dried Cranberries
• 7g Of Dried Yeast
• 290ml Of Skimmed Milk

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make The Cross:

• 80g Of Plain Flour
• 80ml Of Water
• 1tsp Of Lemon Extract

For Coating The Buns:

• 1tbsp Of Golden Syrup

How To Make Hot Cross Buns:

• Firstly, gather together your ingredients and equipment.
• Secondly, measure out the 290ml of milk into a bowl and in the microwave, slightly warm the milk up (TIP: I microwaved for around 50 seconds).
• Once the milk has been warmed up, add the 7g of dried yeast into the milk and leave aside so the yeast can activate.
• In another large bowl, mix together the 500g of strong white flour, 75g of caster sugar, 2tsp of mixed spice and 1tsp of cinnamon together and make a well in the middle.
• In the middle of the well, add the 40g of melted butter, 1 whisked egg and the milk & yeast mixture.
• Mix together the dried ingredients with the wet ingredients with either a spoon or your hand until combined. (TIP: It will be a very wet and sticky dough do NOT add anymore flour as it is normal for the dough to be like this)
• Next, flour a clean work surface and set a timer for around 10 minutes. During that ten minutes knead the dough for the whole time.
• How To Knead The Dough: shape the dough into a round ball. Then, push the dough out with the heel of your hands away from you. Fold the dough back over itself into a ball shape again. Twist the ball slightly and push flat again. Keep repeating and twisting for the 10 minutes.
• When you’ve finished kneading the dough, flatten it down and add a handful of the dried fruit, fold, knead and repeat until all your dried fruit has been added and is well mixed in.
• Grease a large bowl with the 1tsp of butter and place the dough into the bowl and cover with a dampened tea towel. Leave the dough to double in size. This will take between 1.5 hrs – 3hrs (mine took 2.5 hours).
• Once the dough has proved, take the dough out the bowl and place onto a lightly flour surface. Knock the air out the dough and shape into a baguette shape.
• Divide the dough into 10 even pieces and smooth each piece into a bun shape.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the buns onto the tray with a little space between each bun. Cover with a dampened tea towel and allow to prove again until they’ve doubled in size. This proving should take around 1 hour.
• Towards the end of the proving time, preheat the oven to 200C / 160 Fan / Gas Mark 5.
• While the oven is heating up, in a bowl, mix together the 80ml of water with the 80g of plain flour and 1tsp of lemon extract. It should become a very thick paste.
• Put the paste into a piping bag (TIP: you can either use a nozzle for this or just snip off the end of the piping bag). Pipe crosses onto each of the buns.

• 

• 

• Place the buns into the oven and cook for around 15-20 minutes.
• Once the buns have cooked, remove from the oven and brush the golden syrup ontop of the buns whilst there still hot.

That’s your Hot Cross Buns prepared, proved, cooked and ready to enjoy!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Honestly, if you follow these instructions word for word, you’ll find these Hot Cross Buns unbelievably easy!

How blooming yummy do these look tho? the photos don’t do the size of these buns justice but they are HUGE! so you know your getting some biggies when making this recipe.

Let me know if you do end up making these Hot Cross Buns and if you do, did you like them?

Sending you all tons of love and hugs as always,

Elle xo