These Blood Orange Hot Cross Buns are beautifully soft and fragrant buns. They are pillowy on the inside and are lightly spiced with cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg. They are lightly sweetened and are more of a bready texture. I soak the sultanas in tea the night before making this recipe so the sultanas are beautifully juicy inside. No cracking your tooth on a rogue sultana that you could knock someone out with! The dough is further flavoured with aromatic blood orange zest. The buns, once baked, are brushed lightly with a blood orange syrup for extra flavour.
A hot cross bun is a lightly sweetened, soft bread roll or bun usually made from an enriched, yeasted dough. It usually has been flavoured with spices such as cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg. It typically contains dried fruit and has a cross piped on each individual bun, either before or after baking. In the UK and Ireland, they are usually available in supermarkets and bakeries around Easter time. There is a plethora of different flavours available such as; Salted Caramel & Chocolate, Banoffee, cheese, and apple.
According to Ravenhook Bakehouse, “Hot cross buns have been synonymous with Easter celebrations since they appeared in 12th century England. Interestingly, hot cross buns pre-date Christianity, with their origins in paganism. Ancient Egyptians used small round breads topped with crosses to celebrate the gods.”
However, Countryfile.com claims that “Thomas Rocliffe, a 14th-century monk, is widely credited as making the very first hot cross bun – and given the simplicity of his medieval recipe, he may well have disapproved of later embellishments to his original creation.”
Gourmet Traveller says “The Saxons, we are told, ate buns marked with crosses in honour of Eostre, goddess of spring or light, who gave her name to Easter. Antiquarians cite similar practices among the Druids, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans in honour of Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon.” Whatever their origin, they continue to be a popular treat around Easter and are eaten by people in the UK and Ireland, both religious and non religious.
This recipe is a little time consuing and has multiple stpes. The steps are all quite easy to follow though.
I prefer to use sultanas as the main dried fruit here. This is just a personal preference and you can use sultanas, raisins, currants or any combination of the three. Soaking the dried fruit the night before really helps plump up the fruit and makes the fruit more juicy when baked. To soak the sultanas, add them to a heat safe bowl and add a teabag. Pour over boiling water to cover and leave them lightly covered at room temperature overnight. You can also soak them in orange juice or alcohol for a different flavour.
To begin making this dough, add the milk to a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl. Warm the milk slightly, so it is barely warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and add in the yeast. Whisk together until fully melted and leave to one side for 10-15 minutes. In a large mixing bowl or the stand mixer bowl, add the strong flour, caster sugar and zest of one blood orange. Pour over the yeast milk.
If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and mix on speed 1-2 until a dough forms. Turn up the speed to 3-4 and continue kneading for 5-6 minutes until a smooth, elastic dough forms. If kneading by hand, mix together using a wooden spoon or strong spatula in the bowl until a dough forms. Lightly flour a clean work surface and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Cover the dough with a tea towel or cling film and leave in a warm room temperature place for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size.
Once the dough has proofed the first time, add in the soaked sultanas, mixed peel and the cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg. If using the stand mixer, mix together on speed 2-3 for 2-3 minutes until combined. If doing by hand, lightly flour the work surface and stretch the dough out a little. Place the sultanas. mixed peel and spices into the middle. Fold the dough over and begin kneading for 5-6 minutes until everything has been dispersed evenly through the dough.
Cover the dough and leave to rise for another 30-45 minutes until doubled in size again. Divide the dough into 80 gram pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball. Place the balls on the flat lined baking tray, leaving a little space in between each ball.
Make the egg wash by adding one egg and the milk to a small bowl. Whisk together and lightly brush the egg wash all over the buns. Very lightly cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave somewhere warm room temperature for 45-50 minutes until risen.
Once the hot cross buns have risen, add the flour and water to a small bowl to make the paste. Mix together until a smooth paste forms. Transfer into a small piping bag. Snip off the end of the piping bag and carefully pipe crosses over each bun. Place into the hot oven and bake for 35-45 minutes until they are all an even light brown colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, add the blood orange juice and icing sugar. Mix together until the sugar has completely dissolved. Lightly brush the glaze all over the warm hot cross buns. Serve immediately or store leftovers by wrapping tightly in cling film or placing into an airtight container once completely cold. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Once they are cooled, they should be wrapped tightly in cling film or placed into an airtight container. They can be kept at room temperature for 3-5 days. After 2-3 days they will start to harden slightly. I would advise toasting them lightly once they start to harden.
Absolutely! cooled hot cross buns can be tightly wrapped or placed into an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months. Allow them to defrost at room temperature for at least 1 hour before eating. They might go a little dry in the freezer so they are best served toasted.
Hot cross buns can be eaten hot or cold. They can be eaten fresh from the oven or completely cooled. You can toast the buns before slathering on some butter or you can warm them slightly in the microwave.
Hot cross buns can be served by themselves or slathered with butter, jam,whipped cream, nutella, peanut butter, fruit spreads such as lemon curd or apple butter, etc. Savoury hot cross buns can be used as bread in a sandwich or a base for eggs benedict.
Spices and dried fruit tends to slow down the yeasts fermentation. This results in an under proofed dough. When the dough is under proofed, the resulting buns can be dense and stodgy as opposed to light and fluffy.
For more Bread Recipes, check out my Bread Category, here.
Maybe you’re looking for more Breakfast Ideas? Take a peek at my breakfast category, here.
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