Spring

Hot Cross Buns

hot cross buns

Hot Cross Buns are delicately sticky-sweet and beautifully golden on the outside, the inside is gently scented with vanilla, warm spices, and studded with dried cranberries and golden raisins – all of which are reasons enough to love them, though I’ve always been most captivated by their history.

hot cross buns

An Intriguing History

In the days of old, a hot cross bun was considered divinely powerful and reserved only for Christmas, Good Friday, and burials.  If baked on Good Friday, the buns were believed to last the entire year, never to spoil!

So in good faith, bakers would hang a cross bun in their kitchens to bring a successful rise to their yeast products.  Families would hang a bun in their homes to ward off evil spirits; and if a loved one fell ill, a piece of the cross bun was finely ground and mixed with water as medicine.  Sailors took cross buns on their voyages to protect them from shipwreck, and friends who gifted one another with hot cross buns every year were said to remain friends for life.

So much responsibility for these hot cross buns!

While I only make these on Good Friday, I’ve made them earlier this year so I could share them with you.  However, did you know that randomly making hot cross buns would have been deemed unlawful if we lived under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1592?

Since hot cross buns were considered powerful, decrees were created against any possible abuse of their power, which included making them throughout the year.  I would’ve had to secretly make these at home, and I certainly would not have been able to share them with you if a blog existed in those days – that would have been grounds for punishment, and all the sticky-sweet deliciously forbidden buns would have been confiscated.  Oh, the intrigue!

How to Measure Flour Properly

Ready to bake? It’s important to measure the flour correctly so as to not yield an overly dry cross bun.  I like to use a scale for ease, 125 grams will produce a perfect cup of flour.  62.5 – 63 grams, an accurate 1/2 cup.  Don’t have a scale?  Here’s a helpful guide to ensure the best results.

hot cross buns

While I’m not entirely sure that hot cross buns possess divine powers, I do enjoy their storied past, and I like to think about that while I’m making them.  Although, tasting one hot from the oven, cut in half with a pat of sweet cream butter, does border on divine in my opinion, so maybe there is something to it, after all…

For people who didn’t grow up savoring these little treats, hot cross buns will forever live and reign in the popular children’s nursery rhyme.   Did you know that it was first documented as a London street cry and it originally went like this (c’mon, you know the tune):

“Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny, hot cross buns.”

Reading that verse isn’t without consequence either – if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself humming it all day!

Join the Conversation!

Do you make hot cross buns on Good Friday, too?  Have you ever dared to hang one in your kitchen for an entire year?!  Leave me a comment below, I’d love to know!

If you make this recipe, please share it with me on Instagram, I’d love to see!  Tag me @chasingtheseasons so that I don’t miss it!

Disclosure:  As a way of supporting Chasing the Seasons, I may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement, recommendation, and/or link to any product(s).  That support allows me to continue to share my recipes with you.  I only recommend products that I love and/or personally use or are similar to the products I use – all at no additional cost to you.   I sincerely appreciate all the love that has been given to this little blog of mine.  Thank you.

hot cross buns

Hot Cross Buns

Delicately sticky-sweet and beautifully golden, scented with vanilla and warming spices and studded with plump cranberries and golden raisins.
Servings: 12
Author: Chasing the Seasons

Ingredients

For the buns

  • olive oil for greasing
  • 3/4 cup whole milk or 2% very warm, not scalding (110 F)
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 2 ¼ tsp dry active yeast
  • 2 eggs room temperature and lightly beaten
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 ½ cups flour, unbleached all-purpose* divided
  • tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 5 tbsp salted butter, roughly cut into tablespoon-sized pieces room temperature
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup dried cranberries

For the Cross

  • ½ cup flour, unbleached all purpose
  • 6-8 tbsp fresh water as needed

For the glaze

  • ¼ cup fresh water
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Read through the entire recipe first. Many notes are include for ease and convenience.

  • Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil, set aside. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet and set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a separate large mixing bowl), combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast, and gently mix by hand to combine. Leave the bowl undisturbed for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate. If the yeast doesn't bloom and create a thick frothy layer after 5-10 minutes, it means the yeast is not active and the dough will not rise, discard and try again with a fresh batch of yeast.
  • Slowly add the lightly beaten eggs and vanilla to the yeast mixture, whisking as you add, until just combined. Adding in slowly and gently mixing will help temper the eggs if the milk is still quite warm.
  • Add only 2 cups (250 g) of the flour (reserving the rest for the second rise) along with the ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the yeast mixture. Using a whisk or a mixing spoon, combine just enough to incorporate all of the ingredients. Note that the mixture will still be quite sticky and very wet, do your best to gently mix and scrape from the sides and bottom, removing as much sticky dough from your whisk or spoon. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free area.
  • After 30 minutes, the wet dough will have puffed-up and inflated a bit.
  • From the remaining flour, separate out 1 cup and add the salt, briefly mix to combine. Leave the remaining ½ cup or so of flour set aside, you will use it in a bit if the dough mixture is still too sticky to handle.
    If using a stand mixer bowl, secure the bowl to the mixer, and begin by using the paddle attachment. Add the salted flour to the bowl, ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scraping down the sides as needed. Add the softened butter into the bowl, and briefly mix again.
  • Add the raisins and cranberries and mix to combine.
  • Once the dough has formed into a cohesive mass, switch to the dough hook attachment and begin to knead. If the dough is still too wet to work with, begin to incorporate some of the reserved ½ cup of flour, only a little at a time, until the dough starts to firm up and isn't sticking to the sides of the bowl.
    It is common to not use all of the reserved flour, so don't feel compelled to toss it all in. Much will depend on the age of the flour, the humidity and temperature of your environment and altitude, so start with less - you can always add more. The end result should be a dough that is soft and pliable and still a little sticky, but not so much that it is unmanageable. Adding too much flour will create a dry hot cross bun.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead just briefly to make sure the cranberries and raisins are distributed as evenly as possible. Form the dough into a ball. Place the dough into the lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes in a warm draft-free area.
  • After 30 minutes, the dough should have increased in size. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball shape.
  • Place the 12 balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 3 rows of 4, setting them close together, but not so close they touch (when they bake and rise, they will fuse together to create a pull-apart style). Cover and let it rise for one hour.
  • Prepare the mixture for the cross. Mix ½ cup flour (weigh 63 grams for accuracy) and 6 tablespoons water together to form a thick paste. The consistency should be easy to pipe, but thick enough that it will not run, make sure there are no lumps. Thin with a little more of the reserved water only if necessary. Spoon the paste into a piping bag or a large plastic storage bag.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 F. (204 C). Once the buns are ready for baking, use the piping bag or the plastic storage bag with the corner snipped off, and gently squeeze the paste mixture across the buns, in both directions to form a cross. Note: It's easiest to go one way across all the buns and then in the other direction across all the buns.
    Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • In the meantime, prepare the glaze by making a simple syrup. Bring the sugar and water to a low boil in a small saucepan, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. You'll know it's ready when you don't feel any grainy bits of sugar at the bottom of the pan. Brush the glaze on the buns when they come out of the oven and are still piping hot. Allow them to cool to the touch, about 5-10 minutes, before serving.
  • Best served warm with butter. Store the hot cross buns in an airtight container, at room temperature. Best if consumed within a day.

Notes

* When in doubt, weigh the flour for accuracy.  125 grams is a proper cup of flour.  62.5 - 63 grams, is an accurate 1/2 cup.  Dipping a measuring cup into a bin of flour will pack the flour and will result in adding more flour to the recipe than is required - too much flour will produce a dry hot cross bun.  
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

© chasingtheseasons.  All images & content are copyright protected.  Please do not use my photography without prior written permission.  If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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6 Comments on “Hot Cross Buns

  1. These taste like the cross buns of my childhood. I was so happy to find this recipe. These were my favourite as a little girl. Thank you, thank you.

  2. I wanted to let you know that I made these too and they turned out perfectly! I’m making them again this weekend and will post a picture for you to see! I added more raisins but thats just a personal preference of mine. I love your posts and blog, always looking forward to what’s next :).

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