Bread Recipe ⤍ Hot Cross Buns

An Easter favorite! These hot cross buns are relatively easy to make and are infinitely more delicious than anything bought in the shops.

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 ½ cups raisins
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed and strained

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Cover and let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
2. Sift flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins, eggs, and yeast mixture; mix until well combined.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
4. Knock back risen dough with your fist. Remove from the bowl and knead for 1 minute. Divide into 12 pieces and roll into buns.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 9x13-inch baking dish.
6. Arrange buns neatly in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
7. Whisk flour and water together in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag and carefully pipe a cross onto the top of each bun.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking until buns have risen and are golden in color, 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with warmed apricot jam.

Nutrition Facts

• calories354.1
• carbohydrateContent67.9 g
• cholesterolContent43.2 mg
• fatContent5.9 g
• fiberContent2.7 g
• proteinContent8.7 g
• saturatedFatContent3.1 g
• sodiumContent248.7 mg
• sugarContent20.7 g