Traditional Hot Cross Buns with an Orange Honey Glaze

Hot cross buns!! YES, just like the song you learned on the recorder in elementary school. I never knew they were an actual food. But I’m now so in love. This is my spin on these super traditional sweet, spiced yeast rolls. I think I’m going to make these a Good Friday/Easter tradition in our household. Make these with your kids this weekend and remind them of what Jesus did on the cross for you and me!!

| Makes 12 buns

Ingredients

3/4 cup + 1/4 cup warm water

3 tsp active dry yeast

3 tbsp honey

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1 Pinch of salt

1 tsp ground cloves

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup dried raisins

1/2 cup dried cranberries

for the cross

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup water

for the glaze

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp orange zest

Directions

In a medium bowl combine 1/4 cup warm water and yeast. Mix and cover for about 5 minutes until your yeast is activated and bubbly.

Add the honey and egg and 3/4 cup more warm water and whisk until combined. 

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and mix well with a spatula until it looks like a batter. It will be pretty wet.

Cover and let this rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes it should look kinda bubbly but still very wet. Add the oil and salt and fold through with your spatula.

Add the remaining cup of flour and mix into a ball. Transfer to a stand mixer with a dough hook and add the spices. If the dough is still a little wet, add another tablespoon or two of flour until it starts to firm up more. It should be soft but not too sticky.

Add the raisins and cranberries and mix the dough on low speed for 5 minutes.

You can also knead with your hands if you don’t have a stand mixer.

Transfer the dough to your floured surface and form the dough into a ball. Place the dough into a bowl which has been lightly greased with olive oil. Cover and let this baby rest for about another 30 minutes!

place parchment paper in a baking dish that can fit these buns in a 4×3 formation. You can also use a baking sheet if you want!

After 30 minutes or the dough has roughly doubled in size, Punch your dough down and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into small balls in your hands.

Place all 12 dough balls onto the prepared baking tray to where each are almost touching each other.

Cover with a towel and let rise for another hour or until they have started to come together on the tray.

While they are rising, you can make the mixture for the cross. Mix the water and flour together to form a paste inside a plastic ziplock bag.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Once the buns are ready for the oven, using your zip lock bag with the corner snipped of, squeeze the cross mixture across the buns in both directions to form the cross. The cross will expand slightly so it doesn’t have to be super thick!

Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes and golden brown.

While this is baking, simmer the honey, orange zest and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Simmer until reduced by about half and a syrup has formed. The consistency will be really thin!

Glaze the buns when they come out of the oven and let cool. Best served right out of the oven or same day!