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Hot Cross Buns


 I first shared this recipe for Easter 2012 and am reposting them for Flashback Friday since Easter is only a week away!  My Mom made them every Easter  and we ate them still warm from the oven on Thursday before Good Friday.  If there were any left...they would be our breakfast on Good Friday.

These lightly spiced buns are soft and moist and perfect with a hot cup of tea.
This is a smaller batch.  It would make 24 buns in 2 9X13 pans...or  you can make part of the dough into small loaves which you can slice up.  It toasts up wonderfully.
  • 5 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups candied diced fruit and citrus peel (sometimes called Glace Cake Mix) found in the baking aisle
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar and warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes until the yeast has puffed up.
  2. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and butter until the butter begins to melt. 
  3. Add the sugar and the eggs to the yeast mixture and the milk and butter after.  (Be sure not to add very hot milk to the yeast and egg mixture.  It should be warm but not hot to touch.
  4. Mix 1 cup of the flour with the candied fruit and stir well.
  5. Add several cups of flour and the nutmeg and vanilla to the liquid ingredients and then add the fruit. 
  6. Knead until it forms a ball.  Don't over knead.  It should come together but it will still be sticky because of the fruit.  Knead using a bit of additional flour for a few minutes.
  7. Put into a large bowl where it can double in size.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise.
  8. Once it has doubled, form into buns and place them in greased pans.  Take a very sharp knife and cut an X across each bun. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until doubled and very light.
  9. Preheat oven to 325 Convection or 350 F regular bake and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix honey glaze in microwave safe bowl: 
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 tbsp. water
  1. Microwave for 1 minute.
  2. Brush over buns.
  3. Pipe your favorite butter icing across each bun in the X's. 
    


28 comments:

  1. I found your great blog a few weeks ago and I'm thrilled with what I see. Thanks for such a wealth of 'real' food recipes! xo

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    1. Thanks Sherri. What an encouragement. Welcome here!

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  2. These are such pretty Hot Cross Buns, but then your photos are are always wonderful. And the buns look delicious too!

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    1. Thank you Lynda... We are just sitting down to breakfast now...with hot cross buns!

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  3. I love hot cross buns!!! Never had them with candied fruit, looks like something I'll bookmark and try.

    Your blog came to mind when my husband brewed up homemade cider vinegar. Are there any uses for the yeast that comes from cider vinegar? Should I refrigerate it or leave it in a cool dark area, in a glass jar until ready to use. Have you ever tried this in any of your recipes that call for yeast?

    Blessings, Mel

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    1. Mel...that yeast sounds fascinating. I have never tried that...maybe some of the other girls have? Have you tried googling it? It is amazing what answers can be found there.

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    2. Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I did google it, came up with mostly recipes for the cider vinegar itself, so far; none on the uses of the yeast. ;(

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  4. Oh boy - I think your version of the hot cross buns looks fantastic! I'll bet they tasted so good....have a wonderful weekend Lovella. I so appreciate all your posts - it's such an encouragment for me in so many ways!

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  5. So happy to find a recipe without cinnamon! I'm allergic and all my mom's recipes have rasins and cinnamon in them. Can't wait to try this recipe out this weekend. My first Hot Cross Buns! I love your blog. Every recipe I have tried has been great :)

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  6. I don't think I've every had hot cross buns, at least that I can remember. It's my husband and I's first Easter together and I think I'll start a tradition of making them :). Thank you for sharing the recipe!

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  7. I love this time of year. Easter is so meaningful for our family. I cannot wait to go to church for Good Friday tomorrow to start off the weekend. Hot Cross buns are an important part of the weekend for us and these ones that you have here look wonderful. I hope you have a blessed Easter weekend!

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  8. Our Hot Cross Buns in addition to flour, yeast, etc. had currants, cinnamon and a little allspice, no other fruit.Its fun to see every one else's "traditions".

    Cheers,
    Jo in MN

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  9. I have not had a homemade hot cross bun in many years, commercial ones just don't do it justice. This recipe sounds delicious and what I call a "keeper". xo

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  10. looks amazing!! how do you make your butter icing?

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  11. Thank you, I am about to start making them. I will let you know how they come!
    Jilly oxoxo

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  12. There is no salt in this recipe. Is that a typo, or is it not supposed to have salt in it?

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    1. There is no salt but go ahead and add some If you prefer.

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    2. If you use salted butter, that would add a little salt.

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  13. Hi Lovella, I love hot cross buns but have never made them myself. So since this will be my first try I want to be clear with the recipe...in step 3 should the butter be completely melted when you add it to the yeast mixture? Because step 2 says to heat the milk until the butter starts to melt. Thank you. I have made several yeast recipes with not too much luck so hopefully this one will work out.

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    1. Janina, the idea is that the hot milk mixture is not so hot that it kills the yeast. If you heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted and add it directly to the yeast without letting it cool a bit, it would likely be too hot. If the butter is soft, it will easily mix into the yeast mixture without being fully melted.

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    2. Okay, thank you Lovella, I understand now.

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  14. I made these buns yesterday...they were easy and delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I love that there is no cinnamon and the sweetened fruit is tasty - I did add some currants as the glace fruit I bought wasn't quite enough. I had cream cheese in the fridge so made some cream cheese frosting to go on top. These buns are nice and light, not heavy and chewy like store bought. I heartily recommend this recipe!!!

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  15. Thank you for posting this recipe again and inspiring me to make them again. I love all the recipes, photographs etc that you post even when they are Flashback ones as they inspire me to get busy in the kitchen. I just want to say this is the very best hot cross bun recipe I have ever tried--have been making them for a few Easters. Never a problem with stale buns!!!they seem to vanish into thin air

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  16. Please help! I don't bake with yeast very often so am a little new to this. I ended up covering the buns after they were shaped and in their pans with a sheet of greased wax paper. When I pulled it off, the buns deflated some which made me sad. Should I have left the pan open? I placed them in my over with only the light on to have them rise. Next question is: Do I stir or whisk the eggs and sugar in the yeast mixture before adding the milk and butter or do I wait and do it all at once? Thank you!!

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    1. I'm sorry they deflated. I hope you try again. I think that a tea towel would have been better. It wouldn't stick and deflate the buns. I wonder if they had maybe risen a bit too much. That will sometimes make them deflate. Whisk the eggs and sugar into the yeast mixture first and then add the milk and butter. this will help in case your milk is a bit on the warm side which could kill the yeast.

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    2. Thank you Lovella! I will try again one day using the tea towel method! Would you suggest putting them in the oven before they rise too much?

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  17. Such beautiful hot cross buns! I have only tried making them once many years ago but this recipe looks like a really good one. Lovella, your recipes are always the best - today I made Paska and it turned out really well (I think I'm getting the hang of it). I delivered some to the neighbours this evening. I have such high regard for all you MGCC ladies!!! The bestest blog ever!

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  18. 350 for 15 minutes? Is this correct? Most other recipes are at least 375 for 20.

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