Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns: Make Good Friday Special
Sneak Preview: Make these Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns easily with your bread maker, stand mixer, or by hand. Spices and raisins (or currants) combine to make these traditional rolls a favorite ritual on Good Friday, especially in Britain and other Commonwealth countries.
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Do you have memories connected with Hot Cross Buns? One of my co-workers brought them to work every year on the Friday before Easter. I still think of her on Good Friday, although I haven’t seen her in years. Shared food is like that.
These rolls come with many traditions associated with Easter in addition to the familiar nursery rhyme–one a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns. The shape of a cross on top supposedly represents the crucifixion of Jesus.
It’s no surprise that most Hot Cross Buns from the grocery store don’t hold a candle to the ones you make yourself.
Six Reasons Why the Hot Cross Buns You Make Will Taste Better
- If you don’t have any of the spices mentioned, leave them out.
- If you don’t want icing, leave it off. Slashing the dough will still leave a cross imprint.
- If you don’t care for raisins, try dried cranberries, cherries, currants, sultanas, or nothing—baker’s choice.
- If you don’t want dairy, see the substitute list below.
- If you want less sugar, reduce the amount to one tablespoon, leave out the raisins, and, of course, the icing.
- If you don’t want to use 100% white flour, substitute up to a cup of white flour with whole wheat flour.
Make this recipe with the DOUGH cycle on your bread maker. Shape the rolls by hand, let them rise a final time, and bake in your conventional oven. This method produces rolls that are far fresher and better than most stores. Check the recipe notes for specific directions for making these with a stand mixer or by hand.
Happy Bakers Speak Up
“Wonderful recipe, turned out perfectly, only cooked for about 16 minutes at 350
I added 1/2 cut of mixed dried fruits along with the raisins. They were gone before I could even finish icing them!”–BARB
Recipe Inspiration
My favorite dinner roll recipe, Classic Dinner Rolls, is the foundation for these buns. If you are a fan of my Japanese Milk Bread Dinner Rolls, you could use that recipe instead by adding raisins and spices to the dough. It will taste the same, but that recipe tends to stay fresh and softer for a couple of days longer.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- MILK: Any milk works, but the higher fat content makes more flavorful rolls. Non-dairy or water are fine, no pre-warming needed. No pre-warming needed.
- BUTTER: Unsalted is preferred, salted is ok with less added salt. Use non-dairy butter, shortening, or oil as substitutes. Instead of warming the butter, use it straight from the fridge, but chop it finely before adding it to the bread machine pan.
- EGG: All of my recipes use large eggs; adjust liquid for other sizes.
- SALT: Essential for flavor and yeast control. Use table or sea salt, add more for Kosher. Don’t omit. You can experiment with cutting back, but cutting the salt out altogether is not recommended.
- SUGAR: Traditional brown, white ok. For honey, use less due to sweetness and moisture, and adjust flour as needed. Check the dough as it kneads in the machine to see if you need to add more flour.
- SPICES: Cinnamon common, others like nutmeg, allspice, clove, cardamom, or apple pie spice work. Optional but recommended.
- FLOUR: All-purpose for softness, bread flour ok. One-third can be whole wheat for more grain, with a slight texture change.
- YEAST: My first choice is bread machine or instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, add 1/4 teaspoon extra.
- RAISINS, SULTANAS, or CURRANTS: Raisins, sultanas, currants, or alternatives like cranberries, cherries, dates. Optional.
- GRATED LEMON RIND: Small lemon or orange, or use lemon oil/extract sparingly.
📌COST-SAVING TIP📌: Freeze grated lemon rind before juicing for future use.
📌KITCHEN TIP📌 The “apple pie spices” set these sweet rolls apart from the average raisin roll. The recipe calls for cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. You can make it easy and buy “apple pie spice” found in the spice aisle at the supermarket or pick and choose the spices you like and have on hand. Go easy with the nutmeg and cloves. It doesn’t take much to pack a punch.
How Do You Shape the Dough into Smooth Balls?
I shape the dough differently than Betty Crocker’s method of rolling it into balls. I find smoothing the dough by pinching from the top works better for me, rather than rolling it on a flat surface. It’s a bit hard to describe, so I made a simple video a while back to demonstrate my technique. Ultimately, use whatever method you prefer.
How To Make Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns
Select the DOUGH cycle, then press START. Open the lid and ensure the paddles are engaged properly. Within the first five minutes, the dough should start to come together in a clumpy ball.
If it is too dry (bounces off the wall or rides on top of the paddle), add more liquid, a tablespoon at a time, and use a spatula to help it incorporate into the dough. If the dough is too wet and won’t pull away from the side, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it looks like the dough in the picture above.
Remove the dough from the bread machine pan onto a floured surface. I like to use a silicone mat because you can throw it into the dishwasher when you’re done. Knead the dough lightly to push out any big bubbles and form a rough ball.
I use a small zippered plastic bag with the corner snipped to hold the frosting. Then, push it out with your hands like you would use a decorator’s bag. If everybody is in a big hurry to eat, you could use a spoon to drip the icing over the top.
FAQ About Hot Cross Buns
Yes. You have a couple of choices.
1. Mix up the dough on the DOUGH cycle. When the cycle finishes, remove the dough and drop it into a large mixing bowl, cover it, and store it in the fridge until you are ready to shape the rolls. Let them rise a final time before baking according to the directions.
2. Mix up the dough on the DOUGH cycle. When the cycle finishes, remove the dough onto a floured surface. Shape the rolls by hand and arrange them in your pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake the rolls, take them out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature and become puffy. They may not double in size, but they should be touching one another. Slash, glaze, and bake according to the recipe instructions.
Chilling dough can make them taste more yeasty. Unless you like that, I don’t recommend leaving the dough in the fridge longer than 12-24 hours.
Yes. Substitute almond milk, cashew milk, or soy milk, or use water. For the butter, try a plant-based butter, shortening (like Crisco), or vegetable oil.
Substitute a whole egg or an egg yolk for the egg white. Substituting heavy cream for the milk will also make a softer crust.
Slash the rolls with a cross shape on top. The rolls will expand as they bake to reveal a cross design, as seen in the pictures above. You can also make a flour and water paste and paint it on top of the rolls in the shape of a cross before baking.
Serve with butter, marmalade, preserves, clotted cream, homemade creme fraiche, or, my favorite, microwave lemon or orange curd.
You can if you like. However, warming is not necessary. The friction of the kneading paddles will warm up the ingredients. If you’re not convinced, try sticking a quick-read thermometer into the dough at the end of the kneading phase.
📌Time-saving Tip📌 Bread recipes often call for room-temperature or even melted butter. Neither is necessary when using a bread machine.
Instead, I chop the butter into small pieces before adding it to the bread machine pan. This keeps the butter from coating the yeast at the beginning of the mixing phase.
I don’t add melted butter to the pan as it can make the dough sticky and tempt you to add too much flour, causing your rolls to be dense.
Yes. Substitute a cup of whole-grain flour for a cup of all-purpose flour. Expect your rolls to be slightly more dense.
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Closing thoughts: I don’t know about you, but making these rolls inspires me to sing and clap to “Hot Cross Buns.” I hope you have fun with them.
Although I’m no expert in English teacakes, I’m told these buns are similar. Let me know what you think.
More Bread Machine Posts You Might Find Interesting
Recipe Help at Your Fingertips: For questions or suggestions, email Paula at saladinajar.com. If you need help, I’m happy to troubleshoot via email (faster than leaving a comment). Attach pictures and as many details as possible for the best advice.
Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns Recipe
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Video
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup (72 g) raisins or currants
- ⅞ cup (198 g) milk (7 oz) (any kind, but whole milk is best)
- 1 (50 g) large egg
- 1 (17 g) large egg yolk (save the egg white for the glaze)
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons grated rind of one lemon (or grated rind of a small orange)
- 3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons bread machine yeast
Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 (33 g) egg white from a large egg
Frosting
- 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 + tablespoon milk to make a thick icing
Instructions
- Pour hot water over a ½ cup (72 g) raisins or currants and let them soak while you assemble the dough.
- Add ⅞ cup (198 g) milk (7 oz), 1 (50 g) large egg , 1 (17 g) large egg yolk , 3 tablespoons (36 g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons grated rind of one lemon, 3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, and 2¼ teaspoons bread machine yeast, to the bread machine pan.
- Select the DOUGH cycle, then press START.
- Check the dough at least twice by lifting the lid to take a peek. The first time, look a minute or two after the machine starts mixing to ensure the paddles are engaged correctly and the dough is starting to make a ball.Look again 10-15 minutes into the DOUGH cycle to assess the consistency of the dough. For most recipes, The dough should stick to the side, then pull away cleanly.If your dough is too wet, add flour one tablespoon at a time.Conversely, if the dough is too dry, add one tablespoon of liquid at a time until the dough looks just right. Read more about this surprising secret to success with a bread machine here.
- Meanwhile, drain the raisins or currants and squeeze all the water out. When the machine beeps that it’s time to add extras, pour the raisins or currants on top of the dough. If your machine doesn’t have this feature, Add the fruit 5 minutes before the end of the kneading phase. If you miss it, knead the drained fruit into the dough by hand before shaping it
- When the dough cycle completes. and the dough has doubled in size, remove the dough from the pan onto a floured surface. Note: If you didn’t add the raisins already, squeeze the water out and knead them into the dough by hand
- Divide the dough into 12 equally-sized pieces and form into smooth round balls. Place the balls into a greased 9 x 13-inch non-stick pan (preferably with a gold finish).
- Lightly cover the rolls with a tea towel and allow the rolls to rise until almost double.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F or 180˚C.
- Use a sharp knife, a razor blade, or a lame to slash the top of each roll to make a cross. Cover each roll with the glaze, being careful not to let it run down the sides of the rolls and make them stick to the pan.
- Bake in at 350˚F or 180˚C for 20 minutes. The rolls should reach an internal temperature of 190˚F. or 88˚C. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. Remove rolls from the pan and allow them to cool on a rack or serve immediately.
Glaze:
- Whisk together1 tablespoon milk and 1 (33 g) egg white from a large egg. Brush the rolls after slashing them immediately before putting them in the oven.
Icing:
- Combine 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 + tablespoon milk to make a thick icing, stirring until smooth. Pour over cooled rolls
Notes
- In a heavy-duty stand mixer, add the ingredients to the bowl in the specified order.
- Begin mixing on low speed until all the ingredients are moistened.
- Switch to a dough hook attachment and increase the speed to 2 or 3.
- Continue beating/kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, typically about 5-10 minutes.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place.
- Once risen, gently deflate the dough and shape it as directed in the recipe.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl until they form a shaggy ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Knead the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth and elastic. Depending on your experience, this may take 10-20 minutes.
- Place the dough ball in a greased bowl.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to double in size.
- After rising, gently deflate the dough and shape it according to the recipe’s instructions.
Equipment
Nutrition
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
Paula Rhodes, owner
As a retired home economist, I created Saladinajar.com to share my belief that you don’t have to be a chef to find joy in creating homemade food worth sharing. Bread machines (used in an unconventional way), homemade yogurt, and quick microwave recipes are my specialty.