Hot cross buns, a traditional Easter treat, are a delicious and symbolic pastry that holds a special place in many cultures. Their unique flavor and distinctive cross design make them a popular choice for bakers and home cooks alike. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting out, finding the best recipe for hot cross buns can be a daunting task. This article aims to guide you through the process of selecting the perfect recipe, providing insights into the key considerations and offering tips to ensure a successful baking experience. From choosing the right ingredients and understanding the techniques involved to troubleshooting common challenges, this comprehensive guide will empower you to create hot cross buns that are not only delicious but also visually appealing. So, let's embark on this culinary journey and discover the secrets behind crafting the perfect hot cross buns.
Let's cook with our recipes!
HOT CROSS BUNS
In England, hot cross buns-soft and slightly sweet little cakes with a cross cut into the tops-are traditionally served on Good Friday.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes
Yield Makes 24 buns
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Generously butter a large bowl. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, heat 1 cup milk until it is warm to the touch.
- Pour warm milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. With mixer on low, add yeast, granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and beaten eggs.
- With mixer on low, add flour, 1 cup at a time, until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms around the dough hook, about 3 minutes. Continue kneading, scraping down hook and sides of bowl as necessary until smooth, about 4 minutes longer. Add currants, and knead until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead by hand to evenly distribute currants, about 1 minute.
- Shape dough into a ball, and place in the buttered bowl; turn ball to coat with butter, and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour 20 minutes. For a richer flavor, let dough rise in a refrigerator overnight.
- Generously butter an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface, and knead briefly to redistribute the yeast. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 ounces each. Shape pieces into tight balls, and place on baking sheet, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until touching and doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees, with rack positioned in center. To make egg wash, whisk together egg white, 1 tablespoon water, and pinch of salt in a small bowl; brush tops of buns with egg wash. Using very sharp scissors or a buttered slicing knife, slice a cross into the top of each bun. Transfer pan to oven, and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
- Make glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon milk, confectioners sugar, and lemon juice. Pipe or spoon glaze in cross shape over buns, and serve.
TRADITIONAL HOT CROSS BUNS
On Easter morning, our family always looked forward to a breakfast of dyed hard boiled eggs and Mom's hot cross buns. I still serve these for special brunches or buffets. -Barbara Jean Lull, Fullerton, California
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 40m
Yield 2-1/2 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. In a large bowl, combine eggs, butter, sugar, salt, spices, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in currants, raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 30 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°., Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over tops. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool slightly., For icing, in a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Pipe a cross on top of each bun. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 171 calories, Fat 3g fat (2g saturated fat), Cholesterol 28mg cholesterol, Sodium 145mg sodium, Carbohydrate 31g carbohydrate (12g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 4g protein.
HOT CROSS BUNS I
Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
Provided by LITSTER5
Categories Bread Yeast Bread Recipes Rolls and Buns
Time 3h
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Put warm water, butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white, flour, and yeast in bread maker and start on dough program.
- When 5 minutes of kneading are left, add currants and cinnamon. Leave in machine till double.
- Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
- Shape into 12 balls and place in a greased 9 x 12 inch pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double, about 35-40 minutes.
- Mix egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Brush on balls.
- Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.
- To make crosses: mix together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and milk. Place glaze in a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off; pipe a cross onto each roll.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 217 calories, Carbohydrate 40.5 g, Cholesterol 40.3 mg, Fat 4 g, Fiber 1.8 g, Protein 5.2 g, SaturatedFat 2.1 g, Sodium 108.7 mg, Sugar 15.5 g
HOT CROSS BUNS
Making these sweet, currant-dotted buns is one of our favorite Easter traditions. Topped with a simple citrusy glaze, they're as pretty as they are delicious.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 2h55m
Yield A dozen buns
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Combine the water and milk in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat until about 100 degrees F (but no more than 110 degrees). Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour over the surface of the liquid. Set aside without stirring, until foamy and rising up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk the butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture.
- Whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon to make a thick, shaggy, and slightly sticky dough. Stir in currants. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.
- Brush the inside of a large bowl with butter. Put dough in bowl, turning to coat lightly with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you have a marker, trace a circle the size of the dough on the plastic, and note the time to help you keep track.)
- To form the rolls: Butter a 9 by 14-inch baking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl and pat into a rectangle about 16 by 8 inches. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, about 2 ounces each, with a pizza wheel or bench scraper. (If you don't have a scale, divide the dough in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Cut each of those four sections into 3 equal-sized rolls.)
- Tuck the edges of the dough under to make round rolls and place them seam-side down in the prepared pan, leaving a little space in between each roll. Cover the pan with buttered plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the rolls rise almost to the rim of the pan and have more than doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg. Bake rolls until golden brown and puffy, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the rolls registers 190 degrees F, about 25 minutes.
- For the glaze: Stir together confectioners' sugar, milk, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Transfer icing to a zip bag or pastry bag, and make a small cut in the corner of the bag. Ice buns in a thick cross shape over the top of the warm buns.
HOT CROSS BUNS
An Easter favorite! These hot cross buns are relatively easy to make and are infinitely more delicious than anything bought in the shops.
Provided by Bush Cook
Categories Bread Yeast Bread Recipes Rolls and Buns
Time 1h55m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Whisk milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Cover and let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
- Sift flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins, eggs, and yeast mixture; mix until well combined.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
- Knock back risen dough with your fist. Remove from the bowl and knead for 1 minute. Divide into 12 pieces and roll into buns.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Arrange buns neatly in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
- Whisk flour and water together in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag and carefully pipe a cross onto the top of each bun.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking until buns have risen and are golden in color, 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with warmed apricot jam.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 354.1 calories, Carbohydrate 67.9 g, Cholesterol 43.2 mg, Fat 5.9 g, Fiber 2.7 g, Protein 8.7 g, SaturatedFat 3.1 g, Sodium 248.7 mg, Sugar 20.7 g
MOM'S BEST HOT CROSS BUNS
I found the handwritten copy of this recipe tucked inside one of my mother's old cookbooks. As a young girl, I used to help her make these buns.
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 1h
Yield 1 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter, raisins, egg, salt and remaining sugar; beat until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 12 portions. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool., For icing, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a piping consistency. Pipe an "X" on top of each bun.
Nutrition Facts :
HOT-CROSS BUNS
The hot-cross bun has been a Good Friday treat, eaten to mark the end of Lent, for centuries. It is a sweet yeast roll, fragrant with warm spices, studded with dried and candied fruit, and decorated with a cross on top. Bakers traditionally created the cross by slashing the dough or by laying strips of pastry across the crown of the bun; modern bakers usually use white icing to make the cross. While these are at their best when served warm, preferably soon after they have been baked, a quick toasting a slather of butter would more than salvage a day-old bun.
Provided by Florence Fabricant
Categories dessert
Time 3h
Yield 2 dozen
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Mix the yeast with 4 tablespoons of the warm milk in a small bowl and set aside about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cream 4 tablespoons of the butter and brown sugar and beat in the eggs. When yeast mixture becomes frothy, stir it in, along with the spices, salt and remaining warm milk. Beat in the flour a cup at a time until a soft ball of dough can be gathered together. Dough can be mixed by machine if desired.
- Place dough on a floured work surface and lightly knead in the currants, adding more flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Kneading should take no more than a few minutes.
- Using some of the remaining butter, grease a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to butter all sides. Cover and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Butter two baking sheets with the remaining butter.
- Punch the dough down, divide it in half, then divide each piece in half again. Divide each portion of dough into six equal pieces and shape each into a ball.
- Place balls of dough on baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Set aside, covered lightly with waxed paper, to rise until they have doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Carefully slash a cross into the top of each bun, using a very sharp razor blade and cutting through the skin of the dough at least one-quarter inch deep. Or snip a small cross in the top with sharp scissors. Try not to compress the bun as you cut.
- Bake buns about 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Just before they come out of the oven, bring milk and sugar mixture to a boil. As soon as buns are done, brush them with milk and sugar glaze.
- Allow the buns to cool for 30 minutes, then serve while still warm.
- If desired, or if you have not cut the cross into the tops of the buns, the cross can be applied with icing. The buns must be completely cooled before the icing is applied. Mix the confectioners' sugar with the cold milk and lemon juice and, using the handle of a spoon or a chopstick, spread the icing to form a cross on top or to fill the cross-shaped cut.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 135, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 23 grams, Fat 3 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 108 milligrams, Sugar 8 grams, TransFat 0 grams
HOT CROSS BUNS
Follow master baker Paul Hollywood's ultimate step-by-step guide to creating perfectly decorated fruit buns
Provided by Paul Hollywood
Categories Treat
Time 50m
Yield Makes 15
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Bring 300ml full-fat milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add 50g butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Put 500g strong bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 75g caster sugar and 7g sachet fast-action or easy-blend yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add 1 beaten egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.
- Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heal of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.
- With the dough still in the bowl, tip in 75g sultanas, 50g mixed peel, zest of 1 orange, 1 finely chopped apple and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hr more, or until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.
- Divide the dough into 15 even pieces (about 75g per piece). Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover (but don't wrap) with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for 1 hr more.
- Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix 75g plain flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross - add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.
- Gently heat 3 tbsp apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 226 calories, Fat 4 grams fat, SaturatedFat 2 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 41 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 14 grams sugar, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Sodium 0.5 milligram of sodium
Tips:
- Use fresh, high-quality ingredients. This will make a big difference in the flavor of your hot cross buns.
- Proof the yeast correctly. This is essential for ensuring that your buns rise properly.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. This will help to develop the gluten in the flour, which will give your buns a chewy texture.
- Let the buns rise in a warm place. This will help them to double in size.
- Bake the buns at a high temperature. This will help to create a crispy crust.
- Brush the buns with melted butter or milk before baking. This will help to give them a golden brown color.
- Enjoy your hot cross buns warm or toasted, with your favorite toppings.
Conclusion:
Hot cross buns are a delicious and traditional Easter treat. With a little bit of effort, you can make them at home that are just as good as, if not better than, the ones you buy from the store. So why not give it a try this year? You won't be disappointed.
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