Hot Cross Buns Recipe and Pictures
Here are some lovely hot cross buns I made to bring to “la famiglia” for Easter this year. I love making bread-y things, watching the magic of rising bread and that delicious earthy smell of yeast.
I was a bit distracted while I was making these and added a tiny bit too much flour, serves me right for not measuring! They turned out yummy non-the-less.
I used the Canadian Living recipe for Hot Cross Buns with a few revisions of my own. Here is my lovely risen raisin (I didn’t have any currants) and candied peel studded dough after the first rise.
The shaped and risen beauties.
I like to keep the buns close together on the pan and then slash them by running a knife vertically and then length wise across the entire pan of buns.
I like to egg wash the buns before I bake them so they have a shiny top. If you slash them after you egg wash you will get a natural “cross” from the contrasting colours of the dough.
Not necessary, but I always glaze.
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These look incredibly tasty! Hot cross buns have to be one of my favorite baked goods! I used to beg my mom to make them every year when I was a kid and then I’d be incharge of icing them!
This year though I have to go gluten free. I don’t suppose anyone has any suggestions for a gluten free version. I’d be too scared to try it myself in case I ruin this long time favorite.
I’ve made this recipe often in the past. I make them smaller and take them in to work and treat my co-workers. They never last long. I notice the fruit is already in the dough for the first rising. Do they rise better the 2nd time…..because they aren’t handled as much again? Is that one of the revisions, Christine?
Chris,
Yes – I added the fruit in the first rise. I know this is not the standard method for adding fruit to bread, it is supposed to inhibit the rise. I find that it doesn’t really make a difference and the shaping of the dough is easier and and you can a smoother more precise shape if you don’t knead the dough after you punch it down as you have to do when you add the fruit after the rise.
I do like this recipe, it works very well, glad you like it as too! Good eye – catching my artistic license!
Margie,
I don’t have a gluten free recipe. It’s a bit tricky making gluten free bread because it’s the gluten in grain that gives bread it’s structure. It is possible using xanthan gum. Here is a post that has more information about gluten in bread.
http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/foodie/2008/11/18/gluten-in-flour-everything-you-need-to-know/
Let me know if you try a gluten free recipe and how it turns out.
oh my goodness! so yummy!
I made these buns and they were delicious. My first attempt at making these buns for Easter was a recipe for lemon and currant buns from the current Food and Drink magazine. They were awful. There were no spices and they were rather tasteless.Your recipe came to the rescue.
I have a question. I make bread using the dough cycle on my bread machine. I have a number of recipes that call for the bread to be baked in the machine. I would prefer to shape and bake the bread in the oven. Can I use these recipes but change the cycle indicated to the dough cycle?
Thanks for your help
Carolyn,
Yes, make the dough in the bread machine, so just set for the dough setting, remove the dough,shape by hand and bake in your oven. It’s a good idea to do it this way – I think you’ll like the results better, you have control over the shape of your loaf and you will get a better crust than in the bread machine.
What is spelt flour? And if I can’t find it what can I use to replace it?