As today is Good Friday, I thought I'd share with you a very Easter-y recipe - Hot Cross Buns!!


Ingredients (Makes 12):

For the dough:

50g of butter
150ml of full fat milk
50g of caster sugar
Zest of 1 orange
400g of strong white bread flour
1x7g sachet of fast action yeast
100g of raisins or mixed dried fruit
2 tsp. of mixed spice
2 eggs (1 for the dough - 1 for the egg wash)

For the cross:

6 tbsp. of plain flour
2 tbsp. of water

For the sugar glaze:

25g of caster sugar
20ml of boiling water


Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a pan, melt together the butter, milk, caster sugar and orange zest until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, raisins and mixed spice. Pour in the milky mixture you previously made, followed by one of the eggs and combine to form a sticky dough.

On a floured surface, knead by hand for 10 minutes until you have an elastic dough. Form into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for one hour, or until doubles in size.

Knock the dough back and split into 12 balls, shaping into round buns.

Put on the baking tray and don't worry if they touch - it'll create a nice tearing effect. Cover with clingfilm and allow to prove again for another until the buns have risen again.

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas Mark 6.

Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with one 1 tsp. of water. Brush the risen but with the egg wash. Then for the cross, combine the flour and water. If it looks too runny, add a little more flour. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a cross onto each bun.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. While the buns are in the oven, prepare the sugar glaze by dissolving the sugar in the water.

Brush the laze on as soon as the buns are out of the oven!

Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post (if you recreate it make sure to send me a picture!) and I will see you all again very soon,

Love Lou
xxxx