Eggless Hot Cross Buns

Bake these Eggless Hot Cross Buns just in time for Easter! These are soft, lightly spiced, and sweet buns studded with raisins. Enjoy these warm buns flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, orange, and dash of vanilla for a comforting breakfast.

Hot cross buns are popular around Easter time and eaten on Good Friday around the world. These buns taste so good when split in the middle, toasted in the oven, and served with some butter or jam. Lightly spiced and fruity eggless hot cross buns are perfect to serve for breakfast or as a snack. 

I never got a chance to taste these wonderful hot cross buns while growing up in India. While studying in school, there was a Hot Cross Buns rhyme in my English book and I wanted to eat them so badly back then:) 

These soft yet dense hot cross buns are pure bliss and taste somewhat like cinnamon rolls filled with dry fruits, orange zest, and flavorful spices. You can definitely play around with some different spices like ginger powder, clove powder, or all spices with some cinnamon for variation. 

These buns are sweetened with sugar and topped with sticky orange glaze for ultimate flavors. Sometimes, I skip adding orange zest, orange glaze, and simply coat the top with some apricot jam or honey. 

What Are Hot Cross Buns?

Hot cross buns are sweet yeast buns flavored with spices and filled with raisins, currents, and citrus. These buns are marked with a cross on the top and have been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in Christian communities. 

Each bun is decorated with a cross made from a flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died. The spices in the hot cross buns are said to represent the spices that were used to preserve Christ after his death. 

Ingredients

For The Buns:

• All purpose flour
• Active dry yeast
• Orange zest
• Raisins
• Cinnamon powder
• Nutmeg powder
• Cardamom powder
• Sugar
• Salt
• Vanilla extract
• Milk
• Butter
• Oil

For The Crosses:

• All purpose flour
• Water

For The Glaze:

• Orange juice
• Sugar

Hot Cross Buns Step By Step Recipe

Activating The Yeast

In a bowl, add warm milk (about 105℉), 1 tsp sugar, and active dry yeast. Mix and cover the bowl. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes and allow the yeast to bloom. 

Soak The Raisins

In a bowl, soak the raisins with a hot cup of water for 10 minutes for extra plump and moist raisins. Afterwards remove all the water from the raisins and set them aside. 

Making The Dough 

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, spices, orange zest, sugar, and salt. Mix everything well. 

Add the vanilla extract, yeast mixture, and begin to mix the dough with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 3-5 minutes on a low speed. You can mix the dough with the back of a wooden spatula as well. 

Next, add some melted butter to the dough and keep kneading the dough for about 3 minutes.

Transfer the raisins to the dough mix and keep mixing the dough with your hands. If you find the dough is a little sticky and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, mix in additional 1 tbsp flour at a time. 

*I used 2 tbsp of additional flour. 

Keep kneading the dough for another 5-6 minutes with your hands in the bowl itself or on a lightly floured surface or on a dough mat. Knead the dough by pushing with the base of your palm and bring the dough back to you to reform into a ball.

Knead the dough until it is soft or springs back to touch. 

Proofing The Dough

Grease some oil into a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl. Spread some oil on the top of the dough. Cover it with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to proof in a warm place for about 1 to 1 ½ hours or until it rises double in size. In colder temperatures, you can keep the bowl covered in an oven by keeping the light on, which will help the dough rise faster. 

Shaping The Buns

Lightly punch the dough down with your fist and transfer it to your clean countertop or dough mat. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts using a sharp knife or dough cutter.

To get an even shape and size you can weigh the dough on a kitchen scale. Divide it evenly to get 12 equal sized buns. 

Roll each dough ball and set aside. 

Line the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Take one part of the dough, lightly knead it for 10 seconds, and pinch the dough at the bottom to form a roundel. 

Cover the roundel with your palms and make circular movements to create a smooth and round-shaped bread. 

Transfer the bun to the baking tray. Repeat these steps with the rest of the dough balls, keeping some space between them to rise. 

Proofing The Buns

Cover the baking pan with a kitchen towel and allow the buns to proof for about 45 minutes or until they double in size. 

Add The Cross

In a small bowl, whisk the flour and water little at a time to make a thick but pipeable paste. 

Transfer the paste to the piping bag or zipped top bag with a spoon. Snip off a small piece at the corner of a bag. 

Pipe a line at the center of each row of the buns, then repeat the other direction to create a cross design. 

Baking The Bread

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375℉/180℃ 

Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes, or until they turn golden on the top. Take them out of the oven and let the pan sit on a cooling rack.

Orange Glaze

While the buns are baking, prepare the orange glaze. In a small microwave safe bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients, and cook for 35-40 seconds, stirring halfway through. 

When the buns are still warm, generously brush some orange glaze on the top of them and serve them warm. 

Transfer the buns to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before storing them. 

Tips For Making Hot Cross Buns

• Activate the active dry yeast before proceeding to the next steps. If the yeast is not active do not proceed.
• Measure the ingredients correctly. Do not add too much flour or else your bread will turn hard. 
• Lightly flour the work surface with some flour before kneading the dough. I highly recommend using a dough mat for kneading the dough – I have found that the dough will not stick to it and is easy to handle. 
• Use a sharp knife or a dough cutter for dividing the dough into equal parts and avoid tearing the dough with your hands – it will reduce the gluten strands which you have formed while kneading the dough. 

Variations

• You can use all spice powder and cinnamon for flavoring in the recipe. You can use a mix of clove powder, ginger powder, nutmeg powder, and cinnamon powder as well. 
• You can either skip the orange zest or swap it with some lemon zest.
• If you don’t want to make orange glaze then simply brush some warm honey or apricot jam over the warm buns.  
• You can use currents, golden raisins, cranberries, candied oranges, or a mix of raisins and cranberries in the recipe. 

Can You Make The Dough In Advanced?

Absolutely! Knead the dough, shape it into some buns, transfer them to the baking tray, and cover overnight in the refrigerator. 

The next day, take out the tray, let the buns proof in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, and bake them. 

How To Store Hot Cross Buns?

Homemade bread doesn’t have preservatives so it cannot be stored at room temperature for more than 3 days. 

Store the hot cross buns in a plastic bag or in an airtight container once cooled down completely for 3 days at room temperature. 

You can store them in a plastic bag or an airtight container for 8 days in a refrigerator.

They can be stored in a freezer for 2 months in a freezer safe bag. Take them out on the countertop for 30 minutes and warm them a little in the oven just before serving them.

How To Serve Hot Cross Buns?

Enjoy the warm buns with some butter and jam. 

Simply split the buns in the middle, toast them in the oven for 3-4 minutes, spread some butter, peanut butter, cream cheese, honey, maple syrup, or jam. Enjoy them warm for breakfast or snack. 

DID YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE? 

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