Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Happy Easter! Easter is probably THE most important holiday that Christians celebrate. It’s not about the commercialized bunny, or the eggs, although those traditions can be fun.
It’s so important to us that our family understands Easter is about Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection through which he paid the penalty for sin so everyone who believes in Him has eternal life with Him. It’s a glorious thing and such good news! These hot cross buns help to share the story.
I admit glazing skills were not optimal since I was racing to get these done. Baking with a newborn is tricky. You never know when baby will wake up and when she does, she definitely makes her demands known. Don’t worry, your buns will be cuter :).
If you have any leftovers, you can cut them in half and make a really scrumptious French toast or just sauté the halves in butter on a skillet and enjoy with your morning coffee- so yum!
These are sweet rolls. I use the basic dough recipe from my Portuguese Easter Bread, lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and studded with tangy craisins or raisins. Hot Cross Buns were originally a Saxon tradition which became an Easter tradition to celebrate Good Friday.
Ingredients for Hot Cross Buns:
1/2 cup raisins, currants, or craisins + 1 cup boiling hot water
3/4 cup very warm milk, divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup (I used whole milk, 2% is fine)
1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened 15 seconds in microwave
1/2 tsp salt
1 envelope active dry yeast (about 3/4 Tbsp or 2 1/4 tsp) – I used Red Star Yeast
2 large eggs, well beaten
3 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp (a large pinch) ground nutmeg
For the Egg Wash:
1 egg, well beaten with 1 tsp water
For the Glaze:
1/2 cup Powdered sugar mixed with 2 1/2 tsp Milk
How To Make Hot Cross Buns:
1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup raisins/craisins with 1 cup boiling hot water. Let sit 10 min then drain well and set aside.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine 1/4 cup warm milk with 1/2 tsp sugar and sprinkle 3/4 Tbsp yeast over the top. Stir and let sit at room temp until bubbly and doubled in volume (10 min).
3. In a large mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid mixer), combine 1/2 cup very warm milk with 1/2 cup sugar, 4 Tbsp softened butter and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir until butter is melted. Add 2 well beaten eggs and proofed yeast mixture. Stir in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon and pinch of ground nutmeg.
4. Using the dough hook attachment mix in 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup at a time until soft dough forms. Knead 8-12 min on speed 2 or until smooth and elastic. Dough will still stick a little to the bowl but not to your fingers.
If kneading by hand, use a wooden spoon to stir, then turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead 8-12 min using just enough flour to prevent sticking to your hands.
5. Add drained raisins/craisins (pat them dry with paper towels if they still seem too wet) and transfer dough to a large buttered bowl, turning it to bring the buttered side-up. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free room 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume (you can also proof in a warm 100˚F oven).
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half then continue cutting dough until you have 12 equal sized pieces. Roll dough into balls and transfer to a buttered 9×13″ baking pan. Cover with a tea towel and let them sit in a warm, draft-free room 30 min until puffed
7. Now you should preheat your oven to 375˚F. Generously brush the tops with egg wash and bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
8. Once buns are just warm (not hot), stir together the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and about 2 1/2 tsp milk. You can add more powdered sugar to thicken it up if needed. Transfer glaze to a ziploc bag, cut off the tip of the bag and pipe a cross shape over each of the buns. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins currants, or craisins + 1 cup boiling hot water
- 3/4 cup very warm milk divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup (I used whole milk, 2% is fine)
- 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened 15 seconds in microwave
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 envelope active dry yeast about 3/4 Tbsp or 2 1/4 tsp - I used Red Star Yeast
- 2 large eggs well beaten
- 3 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp a large pinch ground nutmeg
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg well beaten with 1 tsp water
For the Glaze:
- 1/2 cup Powdered sugar mixed with 2 1/2 tsp Milk
Instructions
-
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup raisins/craisins with 1 cup boiling hot water. Let sit 10 min then drain well and set aside.
-
In a large measuring cup, combine 1/4 cup warm milk with 1/2 tsp sugar and sprinkle 3/4 Tbsp yeast over the top. Stir and let sit at room temp until bubbly and doubled in volume (10 min).
-
In a large mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid mixer), combine 1/2 cup very warm milk with 1/2 cup sugar, 4 Tbsp softened butter and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir until butter is melted. Add 2 well beaten eggs and proofed yeast mixture. Stir in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon and pinch of ground nutmeg.
-
Using the dough hook attachment mix in 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup at a time until soft dough forms. Knead 8-12 min on speed 2 or until smooth and elastic. Dough will still stick a little to the bowl but not to your fingers.
-
Add drained raisins/craisins (pat them dry with paper towels if they still seem too wet) and transfer dough to a large buttered bowl, turning it to bring the buttered side-up. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free room 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume (you can also proof in a warm 100˚F oven).
-
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half then continue cutting dough until you have 12 equal sized pieces. Roll dough into balls and transfer to a buttered 9x13" baking pan. Cover with a tea towel and let them sit in a warm, draft-free room 30 min until puffed.
-
Now you should preheat your oven to 375˚F. Generously brush the tops with egg wash and bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
-
Once buns are just warm (not hot), stir together the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and about 2 1/2 tsp milk. You can add more powdered sugar to thicken it up if needed. Transfer glaze to a ziploc bag, cut off the tip of the bag and pipe a cross shape over each of the buns. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
If kneading by hand, use a wooden spoon to stir at step 4, then turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead 8-12 min using just enough flour to prevent sticking to your hands.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
*I love my stacking measuring spoons – I just wash the ones I use.
*Also great for rectangular cakes, this Cuisinart 9×13 non-stick cake pan
*These OXO stacking bowls are multi-purpose and so handy!
*We sure enjoy our Wusthof knife block set. Great knives are essential.
*Red Stand Mixer from KitchenAid: 6 Qt. Professional 600 Series
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Here you'll find classic Ukrainian food and other favorite recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha,
Is it possible that I make the dough and freeze them right away? And how do I proof the frozen dough. Can I put it inside the oven while preheating and just bake it right away?
Thanks
Hi Enice! I haven’t tried freezing these but here is what one of our readers posted ” I added the zest from 1/2 lemon (grated on a fine mesh grater) with the spices. I made half of the buns right away as directed (except I used a round cake pan) and put the second half of the buns in a separate buttered cake pan and just popped the whole pan into the freezer before they could start rising. Two days later, I took the pan out of the freezer about three hours before I wanted to bake them, and they defrosted and rose perfectly. I baked the second pan as directed and they were delicious.” I hope this helps.
I’m not a very good cook and I constantly make mistakes, but your pictures and detailed descriptions save me. I’m pretty sure that I forgot a cup of flour, but I was able to add a tablespoon at a time until I had the consistency matching your description and pictures. Wonderful, fluffy, delicious buns!
Yay! I’m glad to hear the recipe was a success! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review Kimberly!
Hi Natasha,
Your recipe sounds delicious, and the photos you have included on your site are a great help, however I found that I could not copy and paste your wonderful recipe to my computer. Of course, I could choose to copy your recipe because I have two computer screens, but I would not have the benefit of all your marvelous photos. My Dell computer was just professionally installed and your recipe cannot be copied and pasted. Perhaps you would consider making your website more accessible to users.
Baking Joy
Hi Joy, thank you for sharing your feedback. We don’t have anything specifically in place to prevent copying and pasting a recipe. Maybe it is something hard coded into WordPress (the core blogging platform we use) In that case, I would have no idea where to start to change that!
Natasha, can I put unbaked buns in the fridge after step 6 for overnight? How long should they be on countertop the next morning before going to the oven? Thank you!
Hi Inessa, I haven’t experimented with these buns but have with a similar dough recipe. I would refrigerate at step 6, but before the 30 minute rise. Then bring them back to room temperature and let them puff up before baking.
Thank you for Hot Cross Bun recipe. They were absolutely super.Brought back memories from my home country South Africa.
Keep up the good work. Take care.
You’re welcome Elaine! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe and that it brought back such fond memories, funny how food can do that. Thanks for following and sharing your thoughtful review!
I made these yesterday and they are excellent. Very nice texture, not too sweet. I put 15 in a 9 x 13 pan and mixed currants and craisins, snipping the craisins into smaller pieces. Used 1% milk. Lovely. Will make again.
I’m happy to hear that Kathy! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review with other readers!
These are perfect. Perfect! Light and so tasty. Don’t know why people critique recipes that they have changed to suit themselves. Not the same recipe anymore is it?
Thank you Natasha.
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe so much Marelyn, thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha! My dough appears much thicker than yours after kneading with the dough hook. I followed amounts of ingredients quite closely, so I’m not sure what could have gone wrong. Any thoughts? Is it possible my yeast isn’t good? I just purchased it today!
Dough is currently proofing so hopefully it will rise okay.
Hi Jen, One thing to consider is the measuring of flour – if you pack the flour into the measuring cup by dunking the cup directly into the bin, you can get 25% or more than what the recipe calls for. Here is a great tutorial on how to measure for baking. The yeast is probably fresh if you just purchased it today, but it can be deactivated if you overheat the mixture while proofing or rising. It is important not to add hot milk, but rather just warm (not more than 100˚F). It is also important that the dough does not get hotter than 100˚F for proofing or yeast can be deactivated. I sure hope that helps!
I think I may have killed my yeast with milk that was too warm, as they never really rose! Second batch is a success though. 😊😊😊
I’m so glad to hear the second batch was a success!! 🙂 That little tip about not overheating the yeast will save you a ton of trouble when working with yeast recipes 🙂
Should I ice before freezing the buns or thaw and then ice them.?
Hi Marie, I think it would work either way. If you plan on thawing the buns in the oven or warm environment, it may be safer to ice afterwards.
What can I use to replace the egg wash?
Hi Carla, you can brush them with sugar water when they come out of the oven of some coconut oil.
Hi loved reading your recipe, how much buns is yielded from the dough?
Hi Lisa, this yields 12 buns. For future reference, I usually have this information in the print-friendly recipe card towards the bottom of the post. I hope you love the recipe! 🙂
Hello,
At step 4, if using the dough hook, how exactly do you knead the dough with the electric mixer? Is there a specific speed it should be on? Thank you so much.
Have a great Easter!
Hi Bob, great question 😀. You should use speed 2 when using dough hook. Hope that helps.
Hi Bob, thank you so much for asking! I added that important detail. Anytime the dough hook is used for an elastic dough like this one, it should be used on speed 2 and not higher or it will be a strain on your mixer (this is also the manufacturer recommendation). A wonderful Easter to you also! 🙂
Thank for this recipe is my first time baking hot cross bun and my family is very happy with the results we enjoyed for sure I’m bake again.
My pleasure Linda! I’m happy to hear the recipe is a hit. Thanks for sharing your great review!
Thank you for this recipe and this site! But mostly, thank you for the clear presentation of why we have Resurrection Sunday! 🙂
I was excited to find this site also because in my family we are Polish and Russian, and we love eastern European fare.
My pleasure Jocelyn! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the post. Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging comments! God Bless 🙂
Can I add cherries to this bread along with the raisins?
Hi Alea, I think dried cherries would work great!
This recipe is amazing! So easy and so delicious. Can’t mess it up! Love it!!!
I’m glad you love it Zhanna! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic recipe! The results were outstanding! Everyone at our holiday table couldn’t say enough wonderful things about them!
Kristen, I’m so happy to hear that 😬. Thank you for such a nice review!
After my first yeast bread attempt crashed and burned (your easy no knead bread), I decided not to give up. I made these for Easter this year and they came out beautifully! My husband powdered them with sugar – he enjoys helping 😉 thank you for keeping up or traditions and recording the recipes for posterity. I forgot to mention they were delicious!
I’m so glad to hear that Inga! Thanks for the compliments and for sharing your wonderful review!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the hot cross buns!! Thank you for that glowing review 🙂
These are amazing buns. I added the zest from 1/2 lemon (grated on a fine mesh grater) with the spices. I made half of the buns right away as directed (except I used a round cake pan) and put the second half of the buns in a separate buttered cake pan and just popped the whole pan into the freezer before they could start rising. Two days later, I took the pan out of the freezer about three hours before I wanted to bake them, and they defrosted and rose perfectly. I baked the second pan as directed and they were delicious.
That is so great to know that they are freezer friendly!! Thank you for sharing that with us 🙂
Didn’t like it as the bread had a cake like texture, possibly because of all purpose flour. Will try making a small batch with bread flour to see the difference.
Hi Marian, these are more of a traditional Easter sweet bread so they are supposed to be softer than regular bread rolls.
Can you make the dough in advance and bake it the next day?
Hi Louise, that should work just fine. In step 6, I would put them into the buttered pan and cover with plastic wrap (without letting them rise) and refrigerate. When ready to bake, let them come to room temperature and let them rise the following day before baking.
Love, love, love these buns. This is seriously the best that I have evèr tasted. Light fluffy moist and absolutely delicious. This recipe is a keeper.
That’s great Sam! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! 😀
Hi Natasha
If I want to multiply the recipe by 4 i.e. make 48 buns do I need to make any adjustment to the recipe other that multiplying the amount of ingredients by 4?
Hi Sam – Wow that is a whole lot of buns! 🙂 I can’t think of any modifications except it would probably be best to make it in 2 separate batches (doubling each batch) unless you have commercial grade jumbo sized equipment. Quadrupling the dough would overwhelm a normal stand mixer and it would probably be difficult to knead that much dough by hand – it would probably take longer to knead sufficiently if you were to make the full quadruple batch at once. I would also suggest baking 2 batches at a time on the same rack in the oven.
Thank you for taking the time to respond Natasha. Two double batches it will be. Have a great Easter weekend.
Natasha,
Never think you are putting in too much details. This was my FIRST successful yeast bread recipe! Came out beautifully! I can’t thank you enough!
Michele
Awesome! I’m happy to hear that Michele! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi natasha thanks for sharing a yummy delicious recipe. I will try to make this recipe.
You will love it!! Let me know what you think!
Thank you for the recipe Natasha. It was a big hit at our Easter party. I used bread machine dough cycle after adding cranberries and it worked wonderful. Thank you again for sharing, Lena
Thank you so much for sharing that! People often ask about making doughs in the bread maker. You’re awesome! 🙂
Excellent. Great texture and flavor.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
My first time making Hot Cross Buns and this recipe turned out awesome! No one in my family is a fan of raisins so I used the dried cranberries and added orange zest. Wow!! They’re amazing!! Thank you for your recipe. I’ll be making them again and again!
Tammy, I’m so happy you like them 😁. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hello, I have a question re: the yeast. I have the Fleischmann’s Instant yeast, do I need to change the amount of milk in the recipe since it doesn’t need to be dissolved in liquid?
Hi James, I haven’t tested this recipe with instant yeast so I can’t really give you advice on using it. The recipe still needs the milk in it even if the yeast doesn’t have to be dissolved. If you try it with the instant yeast, let me know how it turns out!
Okay so I used the same amount of milk but slightly less yeast since it was the instant kind. I used 1.5 tsp for this recipe. They came out great! I also added a little candied orange peel and a few sultanas. Our household is all English and Australian and these reminded us of the ones we get at home! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! Someone may have a question about instant yeast in the future and it’s great to know it works well! At what point did you add the yeast? Did you stir it in with the dry ingredients?
I added the yeast in step 2, but just didn’t wait the 10 minutes for it to react and continued to step 3 😉
Thank you so much! 🙂
hi natasha what if i do not have a mixer? can i just stir with a spoon?
Yes, you can make pretty much any recipe by hand, it’s just going to be more work involved to knead the dough. Happy Easter!!
Never made hot cross buns until today, when I saw your recipe. Gave it a try and they turned out awesome! Going to try it with craisins and mixed peel next time I think… Like, next year, lol. This goes in the recipe box, thanks 🙂
Ps: 5 month old in these parts! If there’s a will there’s a way. I always say, if there’s anything in life that truly makes you happy and you’re passionate it about, then it will get done, with time left over for snuggles 🙂
I love how you put that, “with time left over for snuggles.” I”m so happy you loved the recipe! Thank you for the awesome review 🙂
Oh My Goodness…these are the best. I just made them and they turned out PERFECTLY!!!
The only things I added were some candied fruits and tripled the amount of spice. As soon as I put the crosses on and took some photos for my IG feed, they were ALL GONE!
Thank you so much Natasha for this wonderful recipe. I look forward to trying other recipes on your blog. Happy Easter!!!
Awww I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review. I love your ideas of adding candied fruits and more spice. Yum!!
Dough is currently proofing in the oven with 1 cup white and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour because its all I had in stock. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
My 5 y/o daughter was motivated by the “Hot Cross Buns” song to pester me all day to make them and it just happens to be a few days before Easter, so we went for it.
Katie, I would love to hear how they turn out 😀.
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if you knew how I could substitute the AP Flour with gluten free flour in the Hot Cross Bun recipe. Unfortunately, I am gluten intolerant and am new to baking GF.
Thank You!
I’m sorry to hear that! My sister follows a GF diet and she said it was really tough initially but it gets easier. Without testing it with the GF flour myself, I really can’t say since baking is so much of a science. I wish I had a better answer. If you do test it out, please let me know how it goes in case someone else may have the same question.
yes! thanks for the recipe, definitely on my list to do this week. Love your website, always my go-to for ideas. but now there are sooo much ads! omg i have to keep clicking out of them all the time on your site. yikes… hope its not permenant..
Hi Anna, what do you mean by clicking out of them? All of our ads are stationary in the right column except for the new one in the left after the first paragraph. Is that the one you’re referring to? It’s new so we do appreciate your feedback. Thanks Anna!
Hi Natasha,
These buns are absolutely delicious! I made them and everyone is going crazy for more!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this!
I’d love to know if you’ve ever doubled the recipe?If so, did it yield the same great results? Also, I am planning to make lots of these for family and friends as gifts, can you please tell me if you’ve ever frozen the dough successfully and then baked? or should I bake them and then freeze them and just reheat before giving?
Thanks for your help, really hoping to hear back:)
Kendelle
I’m so happy you all loved them! I haven’t tried freezing the dough before baking. Without testing it that way, I can’t really recommend it. I think it’s safer to freeze once they have cooled to room temperature.
These buns are just gorgeous, hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter!
Thank you Laura and we did have a great Easter :).
Natasha, I think you did a great job of presentation considering your circumstances! I know all about baking with a newborn, since my son is only 4 months now. I LOVE baking, and can’t keep myself away from it (especially when I know my husband loves sweets even more than I do). But sometimes, it takes me 4-5 hours just to make ONE cake, because I do it in three different sittings! 🙂 It’s a hassle, but I am oh so happy for it, just as I bet you are, too! 🙂 May God bless your little family and thank you for keeping the recipes coming!
We understand each other :). I just finally put my sweetheart to sleep. She fell asleep on my chest/shoulder and I was able to work on a recipe draft. I’m trying to get creative with getting work accomplished 🙂
One of my favorite Easter treats!
Hi Jennifer! Isn’t it nice to have Easter baking traditions? For every holiday really 🙂
These look so tasty! I can only imagine what it must be like to cook with a newborn, I think my dog is more than enough sometimes!
Yeah it’s definitely not easy! I had a kitten awhile back that just wouldn’t leave my toes alone when I was in the kitchen 🙂
Can these rise in the fridge overnight?
Refrigerating them will cause the rising process to stop. I haven’t tried refrigerating them, but I imagine you could refrigerate overnight, then let them come to room temp and rise the next day.
Does it need to be covered if i let it rise in the oven ?
Anna, cover it with a tea towel to prevent the top from drying out :).
Hi Natasha
Great buns all gone and making another batch.
It is preferable to cover with a plastic film if refrigerating, rather than a tea towel unless you want the dough to dry out.
I’ve tried it before. 🙂
cheers and thanks for great bun recipe
cheers
Thank you so much for sharing that great tip and I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipe! 🙂
These looks mouthwatering! Trying them out today! 🙂 quick question tho- can I make the dough in my Breadmaker? Ive made your piroshki dough in the Breadmaker before & they turned out perfect.
I think it would work well in a breadmaker. I don’t see why not! 🙂
Tried making them today, and they turned out perfect! I made the dough in the Breadmaker & used golden raisins instead of craisins. They are so fluffy & yummy! I called them my version of Paski
It’s so great to know that the breadmaker worked well! Thank you so much for sharing that and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Don’t worry about the look. Looks like it tastes light, fluffy and delicious! Happy Easter to you and your family Natasha! He is risen!!!
Thank you Valya! Surely, He IS risen! 🙂 Have an awesome Easter!
They are my favorite, my Mom makes them. And was thinking today what should I bake on Easter, you saved my day, thank you Natasha!
I’m happy to help ;). Happy Easter!
Wow the cranberries in these buns are such a great idea! It’s always so interesting to see all of the different Easter baking that occurs around the world! So many different cultures make a very similar yeast bread, like the famous paska in the eastern European countries. I can’t wait to get started on my Easter baking this weekend!
Yes, paska is wonderful and such a classic treat. We make it also :-). What are you baking for Easter?
I will be attempting to try a new paska recipe. I made your recipe 2 years ago and loved it 🙂
How fun! Have an awesome time baking! 🙂
I am on it!! Hahaha I don’t have nutmeg can I omit it? Don’t feel like going to grocery store just for that :-/
Yes, nutmeg can be omitted :).