Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter bread enjoyed in many parts of the world. They are sweet, spiced buns marked with a cross on top, and are often eaten toasted with butter or jam. This article provides two recipes for hot cross buns: a traditional yeast-based recipe and a quick and easy no-yeast recipe. Both recipes are delicious and perfect for Easter brunch or a special occasion breakfast. The traditional yeast-based recipe is made with a sweet dough that is flavored with spices and currants. The dough is then divided into buns and baked until golden brown. The no-yeast recipe is made with a simple dough that is flavored with spices and dried fruit. The dough is then divided into buns and baked until golden brown. Both recipes are topped with a sweet glaze and a cross made from a paste of flour and water.
Let's cook with our recipes!
TRADITIONAL HOT CROSS BUNS
On Easter morning, our family always looked forward to a breakfast of dyed hard boiled eggs and Mom's hot cross buns. I still serve these for special brunches or buffets. -Barbara Jean Lull, Fullerton, California
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 40m
Yield 2-1/2 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. In a large bowl, combine eggs, butter, sugar, salt, spices, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in currants, raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 30 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°., Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over tops. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool slightly., For icing, in a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Pipe a cross on top of each bun. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 171 calories, Fat 3g fat (2g saturated fat), Cholesterol 28mg cholesterol, Sodium 145mg sodium, Carbohydrate 31g carbohydrate (12g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 4g protein.
HOT CROSS BUNS
Making these sweet, currant-dotted buns is one of our favorite Easter traditions. Topped with a simple citrusy glaze, they're as pretty as they are delicious.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 2h55m
Yield A dozen buns
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Combine the water and milk in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat until about 100 degrees F (but no more than 110 degrees). Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour over the surface of the liquid. Set aside without stirring, until foamy and rising up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk the butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture.
- Whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon to make a thick, shaggy, and slightly sticky dough. Stir in currants. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.
- Brush the inside of a large bowl with butter. Put dough in bowl, turning to coat lightly with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you have a marker, trace a circle the size of the dough on the plastic, and note the time to help you keep track.)
- To form the rolls: Butter a 9 by 14-inch baking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl and pat into a rectangle about 16 by 8 inches. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, about 2 ounces each, with a pizza wheel or bench scraper. (If you don't have a scale, divide the dough in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Cut each of those four sections into 3 equal-sized rolls.)
- Tuck the edges of the dough under to make round rolls and place them seam-side down in the prepared pan, leaving a little space in between each roll. Cover the pan with buttered plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the rolls rise almost to the rim of the pan and have more than doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg. Bake rolls until golden brown and puffy, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the rolls registers 190 degrees F, about 25 minutes.
- For the glaze: Stir together confectioners' sugar, milk, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Transfer icing to a zip bag or pastry bag, and make a small cut in the corner of the bag. Ice buns in a thick cross shape over the top of the warm buns.
HOT CROSS BUNS I
Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
Provided by LITSTER5
Categories Bread Yeast Bread Recipes Rolls and Buns
Time 3h
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Put warm water, butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white, flour, and yeast in bread maker and start on dough program.
- When 5 minutes of kneading are left, add currants and cinnamon. Leave in machine till double.
- Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
- Shape into 12 balls and place in a greased 9 x 12 inch pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double, about 35-40 minutes.
- Mix egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Brush on balls.
- Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.
- To make crosses: mix together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and milk. Place glaze in a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off; pipe a cross onto each roll.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 217 calories, Carbohydrate 40.5 g, Cholesterol 40.3 mg, Fat 4 g, Fiber 1.8 g, Protein 5.2 g, SaturatedFat 2.1 g, Sodium 108.7 mg, Sugar 15.5 g
HOT-CROSS BUNS
The hot-cross bun has been a Good Friday treat, eaten to mark the end of Lent, for centuries. It is a sweet yeast roll, fragrant with warm spices, studded with dried and candied fruit, and decorated with a cross on top. Bakers traditionally created the cross by slashing the dough or by laying strips of pastry across the crown of the bun; modern bakers usually use white icing to make the cross. While these are at their best when served warm, preferably soon after they have been baked, a quick toasting a slather of butter would more than salvage a day-old bun.
Provided by Florence Fabricant
Categories dessert
Time 3h
Yield 2 dozen
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Mix the yeast with 4 tablespoons of the warm milk in a small bowl and set aside about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cream 4 tablespoons of the butter and brown sugar and beat in the eggs. When yeast mixture becomes frothy, stir it in, along with the spices, salt and remaining warm milk. Beat in the flour a cup at a time until a soft ball of dough can be gathered together. Dough can be mixed by machine if desired.
- Place dough on a floured work surface and lightly knead in the currants, adding more flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Kneading should take no more than a few minutes.
- Using some of the remaining butter, grease a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to butter all sides. Cover and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Butter two baking sheets with the remaining butter.
- Punch the dough down, divide it in half, then divide each piece in half again. Divide each portion of dough into six equal pieces and shape each into a ball.
- Place balls of dough on baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Set aside, covered lightly with waxed paper, to rise until they have doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Carefully slash a cross into the top of each bun, using a very sharp razor blade and cutting through the skin of the dough at least one-quarter inch deep. Or snip a small cross in the top with sharp scissors. Try not to compress the bun as you cut.
- Bake buns about 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Just before they come out of the oven, bring milk and sugar mixture to a boil. As soon as buns are done, brush them with milk and sugar glaze.
- Allow the buns to cool for 30 minutes, then serve while still warm.
- If desired, or if you have not cut the cross into the tops of the buns, the cross can be applied with icing. The buns must be completely cooled before the icing is applied. Mix the confectioners' sugar with the cold milk and lemon juice and, using the handle of a spoon or a chopstick, spread the icing to form a cross on top or to fill the cross-shaped cut.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 135, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 23 grams, Fat 3 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 108 milligrams, Sugar 8 grams, TransFat 0 grams
Tips:
- Use fresh, active yeast. Old or inactive yeast will not produce enough gas to raise the buns properly.
- Make sure the milk and butter are lukewarm, not hot. Hot liquids will kill the yeast.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. This will help to develop the gluten in the flour, which will give the buns their characteristic chewy texture.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. This will give the yeast time to produce gas and raise the dough.
- Before baking, brush the buns with a beaten egg wash. This will help to give them a golden brown crust.
- Bake the buns in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for 20-25 minutes, or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
- Enjoy the buns warm from the oven, or let them cool and store them in an airtight container for later.
Conclusion:
Hot cross buns are a delicious and traditional Easter treat. They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With a few simple tips, you can make perfect hot cross buns that will be the hit of your Easter celebration. So preheat your oven and get ready to enjoy the delicious aroma of freshly baked hot cross buns!
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