Soft, lightly spiced, and dotted with juicy sultanas or raisins, homemade hot cross buns are a beloved Easter tradition, but honestly, they’re good enough to bake all year round. These pillowy buns fill your kitchen with the warm scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest, and they’re far superior to anything store-bought. Whether you’re serving them fresh out of the oven with butter or toasting leftovers for breakfast, this recipe balances tradition with unbeatable flavour. Bonus: the dough is easier to work with than you might expect.

Ingredients – Hot Cross Buns

For the buns

• 500g (4 cups) strong white bread flour
• 75g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 10g (2 tsp) instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 300ml (1¼ cups) whole milk, warmed
• 50g (3½ tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• Zest of 1 orange
• 150g (1 cup) sultanas or raisins

For the cross on buns

• 75g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 5 tbsp water

For the glaze

• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Prepare the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, sugar, spices, yeast, and salt (keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl at first). Stir in the warm milk, melted butter, egg, and orange zest. Mix to form a sticky dough.

2. Knead and prove
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook on medium speed for 5–6 minutes. Flatten the dough, sprinkle over the sultanas or raisins, then knead again to evenly distribute. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.

3. Shape the buns
Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces (about 85g / 3 oz each). Roll each into a ball and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spaced slightly apart so they just touch after rising. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and let rise again for 45–60 minutes, or until puffed up.

4. Make the cross paste
Mix the plain flour with water to form a thick paste. Transfer to a piping bag (or use a ziplock bag with the tip snipped off) and pipe a cross over each bun.

5. Bake
Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) fan-forced or 220°C (430°F) conventional. Bake the buns for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped.

6. Glaze
While the buns are baking, heat the apricot jam and water together until melted and smooth. As soon as the buns are out of the oven, brush them generously with the glaze for that classic shiny finish.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with butter, jam, or even a little cream cheese. Leftovers can be toasted the next day, and they freeze well—just defrost and reheat gently.

Once you’ve made these from scratch, you’ll never go back.