Who doesn’t love a good hot cross bun at Easter time? We know we sure do and honestly, there is nothing better than homemade hot cross buns. For a start, you won’t have any nasty preservatives in them and they will most likely have a lot less ingredients than the store-bought versions and that’s got to be a good thing.

Here’s what you will find in a popular supermarket brand:

Ingredients
Wheat Flour (Vitamins (Thiamin, Folate)), Fruit Mix (24%) (Sultanas (Cottonseed Oil), Currants (Sunflower Oil)), Water, Sugar, Crossing Mix (Wheat Starch, Wheat Flour, Canola Oil, Emulsifier (475, 471), Thickener (415), Salt), Canola Oil, Glaze (Water, Glucose, Sugar, Vegetable Gum (440), Acidity Regulator (330), Preservative (202), Emulsifier (435)), Yeast, Spices, Wheat Gluten, Iodised Salt. Contains: Gluten. May be present: Egg, Milk, Peanuts, Soybeans, Sesame Seeds, Tree Nuts, Sulphites and Lupin.

As you can see there are lots of additives such as gums, emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives and sulphites.

Did you know that the Food Standards AUNZ website states that asthmatics should avoid Sulphites!

These freeze well and are great for school lunches if you can resist eating them all at once. We love them warm with butter, but they are also great cold.

If you enjoy this recipe and you are after more lunchbox fillers, please check out our cookbook range – everyday additive-free. We have a collection of over 300+ recipes and a whole heap of information regarding additives to help you navigate the supermarket.

Tip: Make sure your butter is soft or at room temperature

If you make these be sure to tag us on social media. You can find us @additivefreelifestyle.

You will find both Thermomix and Traditional methods of cooking below.

Enjoy 💛

August 15, 2019
  • 2h
  • 15m
  • 2h 15m

Ingredients

  • 250 g milk
  • 1 tbsp. dried yeast
  • 500 g bakers flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 70 g butter
  • 40 g sugar (coconut, rapadura or white)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. mixed spice
  • 1 c sultanas
  • 1 c raisins
  • 1 tsp. olive oil

Cross

  • 50 g plain flour
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 70 g water

Glaze

  • 2 tbsp. hot water
  • 2 tbsp. sugar

Instructions

Thermal Cooking Method

  1. Place milk and yeast into mixing jug and heat for 5 minutes/37ºC/speed 1. Make sure the yeast has fully dissolved, if not repeat for 3 minutes.
  2. Add all other main ingredients (except dried fruit) and knead for 6 minutes.
  3. Add the dried fruit and mix for 10 seconds/speed 5/reverse (or by hand, if the mixture is too thick).
  4. Tip dough into a lightly oiled bowl (olive oil is fine) and cover with a clean tea towel. Place in a warm spot to prove for an hour, or until doubled in size.
  5. Knock down dough and break off small pieces. Roll into balls (a bit bigger than a golf ball) and place close together on a lined oven tray. Set aside to prove a second time until they have roughly doubled in size again. This may take up to an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 220°C.
  7. To make the piping for the cross, in a clean mixing jug, mix the cross ingredients for 20 seconds/speed 4. Pipe the crosses onto the buns.
  8. Bake in oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.
  9. While the buns are baking, make the glaze by stirring the hot water and sugar together until it dissolves.
  10. As soon as they are out of the oven glaze with syrup using a pastry brush.
  11. Freeze once cooled or eat within 24 hours.

Traditional Cooking Method

  1. Place milk and yeast in a pot and heat over a low heat on the stove. Stir until yeast has fully dissolved.
  2. In a large bowl, add all other ingredients. Mix through the milk mixture and incorporate well.
  3. On a floured surface pour out the dough and knead by hand for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Tip dough into a lightly oiled bowl (olive oil is fine) and cover with a clean tea towel. Place in a warm spot to prove for up to an hour, or until doubled in size.
  5. Knock down dough and break off small pieces. Roll into balls (a bit bigger than a golf ball) and place close together on a lined oven tray. Set aside to prove a second time until they have roughly doubled in size. This may take up to an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 220°C.
  7. To make the piping for the cross, in a clean bowl, mix the cross ingredients together. Pipe the crosses onto the buns.
  8. Bake in oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.
  9. While the buns are baking, make the glaze by stirring the hot water and sugar together until it dissolves.
  10. As soon as they are out of the oven glaze with syrup using a pastry brush.
  11. Freeze once cooled or eat within 24 hours.

Nutrition

  • 8