This is my granny’s hot cross bun recipe—the one she made every Good Friday without fail. These traditional British Easter buns yield 12-16 soft, spiced rolls studded with raisins and currants, marked with that iconic white cross symbolizing the Crucifixion. Unlike store-bought versions that sit dry on shelves, homemade hot cross buns are pillowy, aromatic, and worth the 2+ hours from start to finish (30 minutes active prep, the rest is rising time).
What you’ll get: Tender yeast buns fragrant with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, packed with dried fruit, and finished with a sweet egg-and-sugar glaze. The recipe gives you flexibility—pipe flour paste crosses before baking for authenticity, or score them and pipe thick icing crosses after for easier execution. Both methods deliver that signature look.
Why this recipe works: Granny’s method uses scalded milk for extra soft texture, a proper yeast proofing technique for reliable rise, and a two-stage rising process that develops flavour. The spice blend hits that perfect balance—warm without being overpowering—and the combination of raisins plus currants (or candied peel) gives you varied texture in every bite.
Hot cross buns date back to medieval England, where street vendors sold them in London, and superstitions claimed they’d never go mouldy. During Elizabeth I’s reign, their sale was actually restricted to Good Friday, Christmas, and funerals. Whether you’re keeping Easter traditions alive, exploring Edwardian baking from the Downton era, or simply want your kitchen to smell incredible, this recipe delivers authentic results that honour centuries of British baking tradition.
Best served: Warm from the oven, toasted with butter, or at room temperature. They freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
Amazing Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp. yeast
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 3/4 cup milk scalded
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup currants or chopped candied peel
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 4 1/2 - 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Glaze
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp. caster sugar
Crosses
- 1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 5 tbsp. water
Instructions
Proof
- In a one-cup measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 tsp. sugar, but do not stir. Slowly sprinkle the yeast into the water, ensuring that each particle gets wet. Do not stir. Wait 10 minutes until the yeast is thick and foamy.
Mix
- Add the following into a large bread bowl, stirring after each addition: milk which has now cooled, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Next add the yeast mixture, raisins, currants or peel, 1 cup of flour and the cooled butter and mix. Quickly add in the remaining flour one cup at a time to make a fairly stiff dough. Coat with the flour before turning on a floured work surface to knead.
Knead
- Turn the dough out and knead until smooth and elastic which should take about 10 minutes.
First Rising
- Place the dough into a greased bowl. You can use your bread bowl after it has been cleaned. Turn over the dough so that the top is now greased as well. Cover with a clean tea towel and put in a warm place until doubled which will take about 1 1/2 hours.
Shape
- Punch the risen dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Shape into a 12-inch long log. Cut the dough into equal pieces to make 12 or 16 buns, depending on the size you like.
2nd Rising
- Work each piece of dough into smooth, seamless balls. Place buns on two greased baking sheets leaving an each between each bun. Press each to flatten slightly. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rest for 30–45 minutes in a draft-free place, or in your oven.
Bake
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Mix the egg with caster sugar to make an egg glaze. Brush buns with the egg glaze. Mix the flour and water to make the paste for the crosses. Pipe the crosses onto the buns.
- You can skip this step and score a cross in the bun and then finish after baking with thick icing to pipe a cross onto each bun after the buns have been baked and cooled.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool immediately on a wire rack.
