Home › Recipes › Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns
Soft, spiced sweet buns studded with raisins and marked with a cross, glazed while warm.
Ingredients
| Volume | Grams |
|---|---|
| Dough | |
| 4 cups all-purpose flour | 480 g |
| 1/4 cup granulated sugar | 50 g |
| 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast | 6.8 g |
| 1 tsp table salt | 6 g |
| 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon | — |
| 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg | — |
| 1 cup warm milk | 227 g |
| 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted | 56 g |
| 1 large egg | 50 g |
| 3/4 cup raisins | — |
| 1 tbsp orange zest | — |
| Cross & glaze | |
| 1/3 cup all-purpose flour | 40 g |
| 1/4 cup water, about | 57 g |
| 2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed | — |
Gram weights use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; “—” means the ingredient isn’t on the chart, so measure it by volume or count. Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling, or better, weigh it.
Method
- Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and spices. Add the milk, butter and egg and knead 8 minutes until smooth, then knead in the raisins and zest.
- Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Grease the pan.
- Divide into 12, shape into tight balls, and arrange in the pan. Cover and rise until puffy and touching, 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 375 °F.
- Stir the flour and water into a thick pipeable paste and pipe a cross over each row of buns.
- Bake 20–22 minutes, until golden. Brush with the warm jam right away for a shiny glaze.
Tips
- Soak the raisins in hot water 10 minutes and pat dry so they stay plump.
Baking at elevation? See high-altitude adjustments. Different pan? Try the pan size converter.
Handy while you cook: oven temperature converter · yeast converter · safe meat temperatures · Pantry Survivor Mode