British Hot Cross Buns

A traditional British hot cross bun recipe, light and perfectly seasoned, is adapted for the stand mixer.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 55 mins
• Calories: 224 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons water
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅔ cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• ⅔ cup dried currants
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
• ¼ cup diced candied citron

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2

Heat milk in a small saucepan to 110 degrees F (43 degrees C); pour milk into a bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour and yeast into milk; cover with plastic wrap and let stand until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Step 3

Place 1 2/3 cups flour, 1/3 cup white sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg into the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment; turn mixer on for a few seconds on low speed to combine. Place butter into flour mixture; mix on low speed until incorporated, about 2 minutes.

Step 4

Place yeast mixture and egg into flour mixture; mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Stop mixer and allow to rest for 10 minutes; mix on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes. At slowest speed, mix currants and citron into dough until evenly distributed, about 1 minute.

Step 5

Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turn to butter dough on all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Step 6

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough into a rough square, and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round bun; place on prepared baking sheet. Press a cross into each bun with the back of a knife; cover buns with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Step 7

Bake buns in the preheated oven until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Step 8

Bring 2 tablespoons white sugar with 1 tablespoon water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove buns from oven; lift parchment and transfer buns to a wire rack. Brush immediately with sugar glaze; allow buns to cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Step 9

Stir confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons water together in a small bowl; heat icing mixture in microwave until smooth and warm to the touch, about 10 seconds. Place icing in a sandwich bag, snip off one corner of the bag, and pipe in a cross over fully cooled buns; allow icing to dry for 30 minutes.