Hot Cross Buns are family favorites, especially at Easter, where traditions and spices meet to make the perfect holiday. No matter how tired we are, we always have time to make these spicy buns on Easter Saturday or Sunday. If you are looking for a recipe, why not try my cinnabon-like buns or my version of Paul Hollywood’s hot cross buns?
The tips below are actually divided into 5 sections, with my top 5 tips for each section. The Sections are:
- More spices in the hot cross buns
- Lighter and fluffier hot cross buns
- Oven rise for better hot cross buns
- More stickiness on your hot cross buns
- More memorable hot cross buns.
Please add comments with your own recommendations. I would love to raise my game even more.
What exactly are hot cross buns?
Hot Cross Buns are buns which are spiced and hold fruits and are glazed.
The challenge for any baker in making hot cross buns is that we are basically trying to make an enriched dough lighter and fluffier. In order to make buns lighter and fluffier, one needs to build up the gluten and to develop structure in the dough, however most of the ingredients in an enriched dough work against this approach. Fat from butter and milk acts as a shortening, reducing the elasticity of gluten, decreasing the pore size available for air bubbles to be created. The fruits used work are local weights, compressing the dough under them, resisting the lift of air pockets… even the cross applied at the end of the rising stages is dense, designed to “sink into” the dough as the dough rises in the oven.
An extreme version of an enriched dough is panettone, which is surprisingly similar to a hot cross bun. There are a few differences in the richness of the dough and the lack of a cross, but compare the recipes – just how similar are they? So, we can draw parallels between the two festive “breads” and use the lessons from the one to improve the other.
How to make the Hot Cross Buns even more spiced?
A large component of hot cross buns is the spice in the buns. Traditionally, only cinnamon is used, but this leaves so much to be desired. There are several spices that can be added in individually or together to enhance the overall taste of hot cross buns. In the list below, I add a few links to pages discussing each spice, what flavors they add and how to use them. In all cases, less is more. You want to enhance the overall taste and support the prevailing citrus and cinnamon notes, not overwhelm them. Start with a scant pinch at first and increase until you get your desired effect.
- Nutmeg: – Nutmeg and its sister mace are both great spices to use with cinnamon. Use fresh and not ground nutmeg or mace and simply pass the nutmeg twice past a microplane grater, not more. If the nutmeg is fresh, you will smell it instantly. This will permeate through the dough and give a great undertone.
- Allspice: – Allspice contains notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves amongst others. Just the actual berries or corns and not the pre-ground stuff. Grind finely and add 1/8 teaspoon to the dough.
- Ginger: – Ginger is brilliant to add warmth and zing to a dish. Finely grate about 1/16 teaspoon and add to the dish, not much more as fresh ginger is so potent. Alterntively, cut a thin slice and infuse the milk for 2 hours.
- Cardamom: – Green cardamom pods are ideal. Infuse in the milk for 2 hours with 5 or 6 pods or take out the seeds and grind these finely before adding them to the dough.
- Star Anise: – I love star anise at it adds liquorice notes to any dish, which works great with the rest of these spices. Take off one of the blades from the star anise and grind it finely or infue the milk for 2 hours.
How to make Hot Cross Buns light and fluffy?
There are several steps to making the lightest, fluffiest hot cross bun and they start from the same point: use the right flour and use the best yeast possible. The end point is always the same. Carefully control the temperature of the oven and the steam or humidity in the oven.
- Flour: – Try to get the finest possible flour with a very high protein content. This is important as the dough needs to be on the more liquid side and the extra protein means more gluten which helps the buns to keep their shape.
- Pizza flour from Italy, “Typo 00” usually has 14% or more (14g/100g of flour) protein, which gives the dough a wonderfully elasticity, which pizza shops can use to “twirl” the dough in the air. This is what you want for your Hot Cross Buns – elasticity.
- Remember that a lighter, l;ess dense hot cross bun is achieved by increasing the water to flour ratio, not decreasing it, so resist the temptation to add more flour. This is very similar to a scone recipe in principle. The dough should come together and yet be slightly sticky.
- If the flour has a “W” rating, opt for one with a rating of at least 300.
- Cosider adding some 2-4% “vital wheat gluten” to increase the gluten amount in the dough.
- If the flour has a “p/l” rating, a measure of the extensibility of the dough, opt for one with a p/l value of 0.5-0.6.
- Yeast: – Because this is an enriched dough, you want to use a yeast that is able to thrive in an enriched environment. Look for the yeast used by a baker, or prepare a “poolish” by mixing some instant yeast in flour and water, with salt added in. Once it doubles in size, remove 90% and follow the process again to ensure that the yeast is as robust as possible. Italian shops use the lievito madre concept, which is similar.
- Use a professional kneading machine: – Avoid the cheaper brands or models from any manufacturer. Ideally you have an orbital mixer at the very least with all-metal gears (no nylon). Not using this will wear out the gears very fast and he heat generated by the straining engine will heat the dough, making the yeast overactive too soon.
- It is much harder to knead by hand as the wrong technique with a wetter dough will tend to leave it falling apart and sticking to your hands. With a good technique, it is possible to create a decent hot cross bun but not one of the extra fluffy ones.
- Use your fridge: – One of the best tricks that I have learnt in baking is to retard the fermentation process by placing the shaped dough in the fridge overnight for at least 12 hours. This allows the yeast to multiply slowly and more evenly, creating better bubbles in the dough, which is crucial when baking.
- You can let the dough rise for up to 36 hours in the fridge, as long as you do not over-proof it. You need to test the buns for springiness regularly to ensure that they are still viable. Gently depressing the surface and letting go should cause them to pop right back out.
- Beware the first rise: – Do not overferment the dough in the first rise. A lot of home cooks struggle with the first rise, especially if their container is not square and slightly translucent. It is very easy with a regular square shape to determine when the dough has doubled in size. It is much harder to estimate the rise when the volume of the container changes.
- Think of an extreme bowl shape, more like an ice-cream cone. Now, half-fill it with ice-cream. If you add the same amount of ice-cream on top of that, will the come be as full, or will it have filled by about 20%? Bowls present the same challenge to the human mind. We expect a dough that has doubled to be twice as high, but the growth in a bowl is not even. Most bowls curve outwards, so the dough expands sideways, as well as, upwards. This means that a dough could have doubled in size when it is only 75% taller or even 50%….
- Yeast uses the natural sugars in flour, obtained by breaking down the starch and the carbohydrates in order to multiply. The protein in the flour gets converted to gluten in the same process. If too much sugar is used in the first rise, there will not be enough left for the second rise to occur properly and most of the lightness we look for comes from the second rise.
- Rather underestimate each rise and provide an extra rise prior to shaping the buns to ensure that the yeast has access to all of the dough. Sinply punch the dough back down, knead for 2 minutes and replace the dough in the proofing-container for another 45 minutes prior to shaping the buns.
How to get the most rise out of your oven?
- Temperature control: – Start the oven hotter, at 400° Farenheit / 200°Celsius, then after 5 minutes, drop it to 350° Farenheit / 180°Celsius. This will help the yeast to activate but not set the crust of the hot cross buns until later. Simply increase the baking time by 5 minutes if you do this.
- Steam control: – If you can generate steam in your oven, consider it. it helps the skin of the buns to remain hydrated for longer.
- Spray some water onto a hot plate in the oven or place a small tray with water in the oven as you start to preheat the oven.
- For the last 8 minutes of the bake, turn on the fan or crack the oven door ever so slightly to let the steam out.
- Placement in the oven: – Always place the buns to cook in the middle of the oven as the space above and below will be hotter or cooler.
- If you are making several batches, rather cook them one after the next rather than all at once. Not only is this better for the batches, but you will have better temperature control as the door of the oven is open for less long.
- Use of fan: – Modern ovens (thermofan ovens) come with a fan, which helps with the cooking process except here. The fan tends to blow air around the oven and right out of a ven at the top of the oven, drawing in cooler air in from the bottom. This is not the main problem. The real problem is that this process takes the steam from the oven and dumps it into the kitchen, drawing in dry air into the oven, which will cause a crust to form faster, limiting the growth of the buns.
- Post oven conditions: – If you can, hang the buns upside down… just kidding, that is for panettone.
- Let the buns cool on a wire rack for a good 10 minutes. They need to be spread out so that any remaining moisture is driven out by the residual heat in the buns.
- Glaze them as soon as possible to allow the glaze to penetrate the buns.
- If using an icing instead of a glaze, rather let the buns cool down completely and “ice” just before serving.
How to make truly sticky Hot Cross Buns?
Sticky hot cross buns are made by using the right glaae or icing and being generous.
- Icing: – Use an icing instead of the glaze. The extra sugar from the icing helps making the buns stickier.
- Use a bit of apricot jam on the first pass to create an uderlayer.
- Mix in some of the liquid from the candied peel to increase the citrus taste.
- Make sure that the buns are cool before using icing.
- Avoid water: – Warm up the apricot jam in the microwave instead of using a splash of boiling water. The water thins out the jam.
- Artisan jams: – Use a homemade jam which tends to be higher in sugar rather than using commercial products that rely on starch or stabilisers.
- Marmalade: – Add in some good quality marmalade.
- Double glaze: – Try to glaze the buns once they are on a cooling rack. This will allow you to glaze right down the sides of the buns and glaze twice, brushing at a 90 degree angle the 2nd time to ensure full coverage. E.g. first time use strokes going from left to right and right to left, 2nd time, use strokes brushing towards, then away from you.
How to make the most memorable Hot Cross Buns?
- Liqueur: – Soak the sultanas and currants in a liqueur to add a layer of flavor. Cointreau or Gand Marnier will give a strong orange kick, but consider subtlety and adding in Punch Abbruzzo for citrus and caramel notes, or even Amaretto to give a surprising almond undertone which folks simply cannot place.
- Shaping: – Take care while shaping the buns. Once you have portioned out the dough, most people rush and scrunch it up. Take your time.
- Imagine that the dough has 4 corners and gently fold them inwards to build up the center of the dough.
- Turn it upside down so the seam is now at the bottom and with the sides of your hands gently tuck the sides down and under while slowly rotating the dough to tighten the ball shape.
- Less is more! If you over tighten the skin of the dough, the sultanas and currants will break through the dough and pop out, which will cause them to burn while the buns are cooking.
- Cling Film: – Not the most eco-friednly material, but the best for this type of dough. Cover the proofing container with cling film. Cover the tray with the hot cross buns for the 2nd rise with cling film. This helps to trap moisture in the dough and prevents a hard skin from forming, especially if you let the dough rise overnight in the fridge.
- Fruits and peels: – Extend the range of fruits that you use.
- Sultanas are great, but consider adding currants and cranberries which add subtlety.
- Mixed peel is good, but is mainly made up of lemon peel these days. Consider using some home-made orange peel or even lime peel if you can source it!
- Serving: – In the end you want the hot cross buns to be the starts of the show. There is no point to go through this much effort only to have it overshadowed by other goodies at tea-time.
- Gently warm the hot cross buns and serve with softened, good-quality salted butter. You want the buns to melt the butter while still remaining slightly warm, which helps to release the aromas of the buns. You taste all the flavors with your nose as your mouth only really feels Saltiness, Sourness, Bitterness, Sweetness, Umami, hot and cold. The buns should trigger the 7 basic senses on the tongue but at the same time should trigger the olfactory senses with citrus perfumes and orange tones, spiciness, cooling eucalyptus, and so on.
- The butter should melt but leave a small cold center which accentuates the warmth of the buns.
- Serve a plain but good quality tea (or coffee if you have to). The star are the buns and the tea should be used to refresh the palate for the next morsel. I prefer an Earl Grey tea as the Bergamot notes echo the orange marmalade of the hot cross buns.