Hot Cross Buns recipe

Recipe video above. Fluffy, perfectly spiced homemade Hot Cross Buns! Watch video to see the dough before and after kneading, and how I roll the balls to get nice smooth golden tops. Also, see below for the NO KNEAD version!

Recipe by Nagi on April 8, 2023

Prep time: PT25M

Cook time: PT20M

Total time: PT165M

Rating

4.97 stars (471 reviews)

Keywords

homemade hot cross buns, hot cross buns recipe

Ingredients

3 teaspoons instant or rapid rise yeast (9 grams) (, Note 1, CHECK still active!)
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk, warm (, full fat or low fat (Note 2))
4 1/4 cups (640g) bread flour (or plain / all purpose) ((Note 3))
2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp All Spice (OR Mixed Spice (Note 4))
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (210g) sultanas ((Note 4))
1 - 2 oranges, zest only ((Note 4))
50g / 3.5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg (, at room temperature)
1/4 cup (35g) Extra bread flour
1/2 cup (75g) flour ((any white flour))
5 tbsp water
1 tbsp apricot jam ((Note 7))
2 tsp water

Cuisine

Western

Steps

Mix dry - Place flour, yeast, sugar, all spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Briefly mix with stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Add wet - Add butter, milk, egg, sultanas and zest.
Standmixer: Mix for 5 minutes until a smooth elastic dough forms. Start on speed 2 then once the ingredients are combined, increase to speed 4. After 1 minute, add extra flour if required, just enough so dough comes away from side of bowl when mixing and doesn't stick terribly to your fingers. (Note 5).
Hand kneading: Alternatively, dust a work surface with flour and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
Dough is kneaded enough when it's smooth and does not break when stretched - see photos & video for before/after comparison.
Rise #1:
- Leave dough in the bowl, cover with cling wrap and place in a warm, wind free place to rise until doubled in size. This will take anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on how warm it is - see Note 6.
Forming Balls (watch video, it's helpful):
- Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13" tray with baking paper with overhang.
- Remove cling wrap and punch dough to deflate.
- Dust work surface with flour, place dough on work surface, shape into a log - this will deflate the air. Cut into 12 equal pieces.
- Take one piece and press down with palm, then use your fingers to gather into a ball, then roll the dough briefly to form a ball. This stretches the dough on one side and that's how I get a nice smooth surface.
- Place the ball with the smooth side up on the tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Line them up 3 x 4.
Rise # 2:
- Spray a piece of cling wrap lightly with oil (any), then loosely place over the tray.
- Return tray to warm place and leaver 30 - 45 minutes, until the dough has risen by about 75% (less than double in size).
- Partway through Rise #2, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
Crosses:
- Mix flour and water until a thick runny paste forms - see video for thickness required.
- Spoon into a round 3 mm piping bag or small ziplock bag then snip corner.
- Remove the cling wrap and pipe crosses onto the buns. Go slow so it hugs the curves.
Baking/Glaze:
- Bake in preheated oven (180°C/350°F) for 22 minutes, or until the surface is a deep golden brown. The surface colour is the best test for this recipe.
- Meanwhile, place jam and water in a bowl, microwave for 30 seconds. Mix to combine.
- Remove buns from oven. Use overhang to lift buns onto a cooling rack.
- Brush with jam mixture while warm. Allow to cool to warm before serving.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 80 g
Calories: 217 kcal

Reviews

Hazel Peters on 2026-04-16 (5 stars):
These are delicious! I used 1/2 pumpkin pie spice and 1/2 allspice, plus 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I used 1/2 sultanas and 1/2 chopped mixed candied fruit. I kneaded in my Kitchen Aid mixer. I had to bake them much longer, so after realizing that they weren’t up to their internal temperature, I covered them with foil and baked for 15 more minutes. Perfection!
Meg on 2026-04-13 (4 stars):
My fault recipe failed. I love your recipes. But I have never made buns/bread before. I have no stand mixer so I needed to knead by hand. I checked how to do this. I found the before and after pictures very helpful to know when to stop. BUT I used too much flour when kneading. Tough buns was the result. So I think a note of advice on hand kneading and not being tempted to add too much flour to board. I did read to be cautious about adding flour to the mix. But I did not make the leap to hand kneading. I didn’t realise sticky / wet was good. I will try again one day. 😢
Kristy on 2026-04-12 (5 stars):
Perfect! I used active dry yeast and a stand mixer and they turned out amazing. Will be making often. Thank you for another great recipe that turned out perfect
Jules on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
Made these this week. My family and I loved them. As I made them the Monday before Easter to test the recipe I froze 6 for Good Friday and they were still delicious. Many thanks 🙂
Elle on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
Made these the day before Easter as an experiment and they were absolutely perfect and professional looking! I left them in the fridge overnight between rise 1 and 2 to speed up the process in the morning. Doubled the spices and halved the orange peel. I wish I could attach a photo because they really looked like HCBs from a bougie bakery!
Lina on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
Best recipe for hot cross buns I've made. Thanks Nagi 😊
Elise Picot on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
This recipe is wonderful. Really clear and the results were better than anything I’ve attempted before. Thank you so much!!
Esther P on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
Made these twice this week. Absolutely divine. I bake a bunch but yeast and I are not friends…until this recipe.
Nicola Chapman on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
I made these today for Easter. I've never made hot cross buns before as I thought they'd be far too complicated. This recipe was easy to follow and produced delicious hot cross buns.. Nagi, your recipes are the best! Thank you
Paul Netterfield on 2026-04-05 (4 stars):
Thank you Nagi. I made these today April 5th 2026. Delicious! I used Kumquat preserve because i had some in the fridge as the glaze and it worked well. It’s been years since i did baking like this and your video and instructions were wonderful. I wish i could send a photo to show you i really did it.
kirsty on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
Made these for Easter lunch today. I made 6 chocolate chip and 6 sultana, just mixed the add ins after the first rise, before forming them into balls for the second rise. 10/10 would recommend.
Sharon on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
This recipe is fabulous & so easy. I’ve made 3 batches this Easter and they turned out perfect each time. Definitely a keeper.
Jill on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
Great easy recipe thank you Nagi. 3 dozen nearly all gone !
Jenna on 2026-04-05 (4 stars):
I don’t know if it’s just because I’m in the US and our ingredients are different, but something ain’t right with this recipe. I followed everything as written, to the gram. The dough was quite stiff and on the dry side without the additional flour. There was so little liquid for the amount of flour that the yeast didn’t even properly dissolve and left visual specks. That also led to proofing issues. For the cross batter, I did it by weight as well and it came out like biscuit/scone dough. That reaffirmed something is up with the hydration here. For the record, I bake with yeast weekly and go through countless pounds of bread flour every year. I’ve retraced my steps and I did indeed make this as written. They taste good though and I’m experienced enough to have dealt with these issues on the fly, so oh well.
Pat on 2026-04-04 (5 stars):
Delicious! I didn't have raisins or Apricot jam, so substituted choc chips for raisins and maple syrup instead of the jam as per the notes. They turned out perfectly! Thank you Recipetin Eats!