Baker Tom's British Hot Cross Buns

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Baker Tom’s British Hot Cross Buns

This recipe was chosen as the winning recipe in a taste test of Hot Cross Buns recipes by the British magazine Stylist.

British Hot Cross Buns are less sweet and maybe a little closer to the original than most U.S. versions.

Serve, cut in half, toasted, with butter, honey or jam.

Makes 10 Hot Cross Buns

Bun Ingredients:

3 to 3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp table salt
3 1/4 tsp mixed spice** (see below for homemade mixed spice recipe)
3 1/2 Tbsp butter, (softened)
1/4 cup mixed peel (candied lemon, orange and citron peel) (I substituted the zest of 1 orange & 1 lemon)
3/4 cup raisins (I substituted 1/2 cup dried cranberries)
3/4 cup to 1 cup warm milk
1 egg, beaten

Cross Piping:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 Tbsp water
I also added 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp orange extract

Glaze:
2 1/2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water or orange juice

Method:

  1. Place the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, mixed spice into a mixing bowl. Mix dry ingredients well. Rub the butter into the flour and mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.

  2. Add the mixed peel and raisins into the bowl and make a well in the middle of the mixing bowl.

  3. Mix the milk and egg and place into the flour mix.

  4. Mix all the ingredients to form a sticky dough and knead well for 8-10 minutes until it forms a dough and is no longer sticky.

  5. Rest for an hour and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap.

  6. Divide the dough into ten equal pieces and mold into round balls.

  7. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

  8. Place onto baking tray and leave to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

  9. Making the cross: mix the flour and water to form a paste resembling double cream, pipe crosses onto your buns.

  10. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

  11. While the buns are baking, make the sticky glaze: place the water and sugar into a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes until it thickens.

  12. Once removed from the oven, glaze the hot cross buns and enjoy.

**Homemade Mixed Spice (British Mixed Baking Spice)

3/4 tsp Cinnamon - Ground
3/4 tsp Coriander - Ground
1/2 tsp Caraway seeds - Ground
1/2 tsp Nutmeg - Ground
1/2 tsp Ginger - Ground
1/4 tsp Cloves - Ground

Grind and mix well.

Hints and tips:

Use the milk at room temp, too cold and your hot cross buns won’t rise, too hot and you’ll kill the yeast and stop the hot cross buns rising.

Try using orange juice instead of the water on the glaze – adding a zesty dimension to the buns.

Source: Baker Tom’s Hot Cross Buns recipe from This Is Cornwall (UK).

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I made the Baker Tom’s Hot Cross Buns. OMG are they good! Not heavy but light and HUGE. The recipe calls for 10, I cut the dough into 12 pieces. Six buns fill a 1/4 sheet pan.
The bun tastes somewhat like a spice cake. I substituted zest from 1 orange & 1 lemon for the candied mixed peel. I also substituted dried cranberries for the raisins. Finally on the cross piping, I added 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of orange extract. I also sliced the cross on the bun before it rose, leaving a nice recess when it rose to put the piping. I used the juice of the orange to make the glaze.

I mixed the dough in a bread machine dough cycle, adding the dried fruit and zest at the beep. I then put the dough in the fridge overnight. In the morning I allowed the dough to warm up and rise until double. Then I divided the dough into 12 pieces and followed the recipe. This is really a good recipe. Give it a try. I will be making this again.