Hot Cross Buns

I first made Hot Cross Buns with Bel during the MCO days of the pandemic—those long, quiet days when the world seemed to slow down, and we found comfort in simple things at home. I remember how much we craved the warmth of cinnamon and freshly baked bread, especially with all the cafés and bakeries closed. Baking became more than just an activity—it was a small act of hope and comfort in uncertain times.

Making Hot Cross Buns wasn’t easy. It was a slow and rather tedious process, very much like making bread, requiring patience, waiting, and care. Perhaps that is why we never quite returned to it again once life became busy and normal. It was simply easier to buy them.

But somehow, Hot Cross Buns were never just about convenience. They carry meaning—marked with the cross, gently reminding us of sacrifice, love, and grace. And here, where they are not commonly found, making them at home feels even more intentional.

This Lent, in 2026, I felt a quiet prompting to revisit them. I wanted to share this experience with the girls in the Girls’ Brigade during our Sunday sessions. Instead of our usual bread-making, I thought it would be meaningful to bake something that tells a story—something that invites reflection.

So I began searching for recipes again, going through a few, comparing and remembering. In the end, I returned to the Preppy Kitchen recipe, adapting it to the ingredients we have here. And as I prepared, I was reminded that sometimes, revisiting something old can carry new meaning in a different season of life.

Lent is, after all, a time of returning—of slowing down, letting go, and drawing closer to what truly matters. Even in the quiet rhythm of kneading dough and waiting for it to rise, there is something deeply reflective about the process.

My hope is that as the girls learn to bake these Hot Cross Buns, they will also come to understand the meaning behind them—not just as a recipe, but as a reminder of love, sacrifice, and renewal.

And perhaps, in the warmth of the oven and the sharing of what we make, we are also learning to give, to let go, and to carry a little more grace into our everyday lives.

In order to teach this recipe, I made 7 batches altogether, the first two were bad, I managed to improve it from batch #3 onwards, for the GB meeting, I made 3 batches on 29 March 2026, and last minute inspiration, I made 1 batch using chocolate bites, that was a surprise success ! 

AI generated slide using NotebookLM

Here is my adapted Recipe for Hot Cross Buns :-

Soft Hot Cross Buns

For the Dough

1 Orange Zest

1 Orange Juice - to soak the raisin, can add water if needed

2/3 Cup Raisings or Mixed Dried Fruits - just nice portion

Dry Ingredients

440 gm All Purpose Flour - plus more for dusting

50 gm (1/4 Cup) granulated sugar

50 gm (1/4 Cup) light Brown Sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast 1 package

1 tsp cinnamon - I use 2 tsp

1/2 tsp allspice - I use 1 tsp

1/4 tsp nutmeg - optional

1/4 tsp cardamom - optional 

Add in Orange Zest above

Wet Ingredients :-

85 gm Butter - Melt in Microwave Oven

1 egg large, room temp, lightly beaten

1/2 Cup (120 ml) Sour Cream / Butter Cream (1/2 Cup Milk + 1 tsp Vinegar) 

1/2 Cup (120 ml) Milk 

1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the Egg Wash:-

1 egg

1 Tbsp cream or milk 

For the Cross:-

3/4 Cup Icing Powder

1 Tbsp Milk

1/2 tsp Vanilla or Lemon Juice

This turns out too chewy and dry even if baked for 5 minutes

[40 gm (1/3 Cup) all-purpose flour

[60 ml (1/4 Cup) Water

100 gm Plain Flour

2 tsp Icing Sugar

100 gm Water (add slowly)

For the Glaze:-

1 Tbsp apricot jam 15ml

1 Tbsp water 15ml

Notes :- Two main issues to improve :-

1. My oven could cause Top gets burnt quite fast at 170C, so need to cover with aluminium foil first 15 mins, then remove. 
2. The cross batter is still a bit chewy even though piped in and left for last 5 mins. Should try a different portion or the Icing option

1. Soft Hot Cross Buns - by Dr Binchi Chris

https://merryboosters.com/hot-cross-buns-recipe/

For the bread

1.     All-purpose flour :325 g (2 and 1/2 cup)

2.    Whole milk :150 ml (1/2 cup +2 tbsp)

3.    Granulated sugar :50g or 1/4 cup

4.    Instant yeast : 2 tsp

5.    Cinnamon Powder :1/2 tsp

6.    Ground All spices :1/2 tsp

7.    Salt:3/4 tsp

8.    Egg :1

9.    Unsalted butter :42.5 g or 3 tbsp

10. Raisins : 3/4 cup or 125 g

11.  Vanilla extract :1 tsp

12. Zest of half of an orange.

For the cross

1.     Flour :1/2 cup

2.    Water:1/2 cup -2 tbsp

For Glaze

1.     2 tablespoons apricot jam

2.    1 tablespoon warm water

2. Soft Hot Cross Buns - 

Main Ingredients:

520 gm / 1lb2½oz Strong white bread flour

300 gm / 10½oz of luke warm milk

1 Large egg

40 gm / 1½oz Vegetable oil

70 gm / 2½oz Granulated sugar

2½ tsp / 10g / ¼oz dried yeast

250 gm / 9oz Mixed fruit and peel

Zest of 1 lemon

¼ tsp Salt

2 tsp Ground all / mixed spice

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

Cross ingredients

100 gm / 3½oz plain or all purpose flour

2tsp Icing or powdered sugar

100 gm / 3½oz water

Glaze ingredients

5 tsp Sugar

8 tsp Water

Baking pan, inside measurements. 12"x 8"x 2" or 30cm x 20cm x 5cm

  

 3. Soft Hot Cross Buns - 

https://preppykitchen.com/hot-cross-buns/

He gives good tips and his recipe reminds me of Christmas, pour orange zest and half orange juice onto the raisin or soak in rum. 

This is the recipe I adapted my Hot Cross Buns from because it uses lesser flour.

For the Dough

440 gm (3 2/3 Cups) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting

50 gm (1/4 Cup) granulated sugar

50 gm (1/4 Cup) light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Pack (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional) 

1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)

1 tbsp orange zest optional 

1 egg large, room temp, lightly beaten

120 ml (1/2 Cup) milk

15 ml (1 Tbsp) vanilla extract

120 gm (1/2 Cup) sour cream

85 gm (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter

2/3 cup raisins or mixed dried fruit

For the Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 Tbsp cream

For the Cross:

40 gm (1/3 Cup) all-purpose flour

60 ml (1/4 Cup) water

For the Glaze:

45 ml (3 Tbsp) vanilla extract

15 ml (1 Tbsp) apricot jam

15 ml (1 Tbsp) water 

1. Place the currants or raisins in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let soak for 10 minutes, then drain well, and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the milk, ½ teaspoon sugar, and the yeast. Let the mixture sit until it’s very foamy on top, about 10 minutes.
3. To the yeast mixture, add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, 1 egg, and the melted butter. Then, add the flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed to start combining. Once the ingredients are mostly incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing until a tacky and elastic dough has formed and is making a “slapping” sound against the sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes. (The dough may still cling to the very bottom of the bowl and should feel tacky but not stick to you when you touch it.)
4. Mix in the drained raisins and knead for 30 more seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat the dough in oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
5. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray or butter.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. To shape each piece into a ball, gather the edges into the center and pinch them together. Flip the ball over, cup your hand around it, and move your hand in a circular motion. This will create tight smooth dough balls.
7. Place the dough balls in the prepared pan spacing them equally apart. Cover and let rise again until they are almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
8. After 45 minutes of rise time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
9. When the buns have risen, beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water or milk and brush the tops lightly with egg wash.

For the Cross Topping:

In a small bowl, stir together the flour and water until a thick paste forms. Transfer it to a piping bag or a ziptop bag with one corner cut off.

Pipe a straight line through the center of each bun. Repeat making the second set of lines perpendicular to the first set, forming a cross on top of each bun.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

For the Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and water until smooth. 

Brush the glaze over the warm rolls before serving.

4. Bigger Bolder Baker with Gemma Stafford 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNTc_wEj1iU&t=313s

I find her recipe has too much flour and I think would be quite dense. But for method, I like the way she simplified the process to us. So I actually watched her video as revision before I start baking. 

*Quick Hot Cross Buns* 

This does not quite work out for me, the baking powder somehow made the dough too hard and dry.

300 grams (2 Cups) self-raising flour | extra flour for kneading and rolling

3 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp  Nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/8  tsp ground cloves

3 Tbsp brown sugar

400 grams (1 1/2 Cup) Greek yoghurt / replaced by Buttermilk

2 tsp Vanilla Essence or Paste

Maple syrup to glaze

Paste for Crosses :-

35 grams (¼ cup) plain flour

2 ½ tablespoons (10 teaspoons) water

200 C 20 mins

Note :- This turns out to be hard and chewy, not really like the soft buns.