Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Sourdough hot cross buns are made with a spiced dough containing raisins and drizzled with a delicious orange glaze. This traditional Easter recipe with a cross baked into the top of each bun is made even better with the addition of sourdough starter!
Every year we plan a special family Easter meal that often includes ham, mashed potatoes, and a variety of other traditional side dishes. These delicious buns are the perfect bread to serve alongside your meal. They could also be served at breakfast or brunch (they would go well with this simple breakfast casserole or crustless quiche).
Why I Love This Recipe
- Traditional Easter Bread: Easter is one of my favorite holidays, and I love having a sourdough recipe to make that’s very similar to traditional hot cross buns. Along with making resurrection rolls, this is another great Easter tradition to make every year to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
- Great for Any Time of Year: Even though this is a great recipe for Easter, it’s perfect for any time of year when you need a recipe for sourdough sweet buns. This enriched dough makes soft and fluffy sourdough rolls that go well with so many things. So although hot cross buns are traditionally served on Good Friday, feel free to make these at other times of the year.
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Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook
- 9″ x 13″ Baking Pan
- Kitchen Scale
- Pastry Brush
- Piping Bags (or plastic zipper bag)
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Active Sourdough Starter: You’ll need your starter to be in its bubbly and active state for this recipe. (Learn how to make a sourdough starter).
- Milk: Warm whole milk works best in this recipe.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used in this recipe. If you decide to use salted butter, you may want to omit a little bit of the additional salt.
- Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar gives this sourdough hot cross bun recipe its sweetness.
- Flour: Bread flour is used for the buns, and all purpose flour is used to make the crosses.
- Egg: 1 large egg at room temperature.
- Spices: A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice combine to make a delicious spiced dough.
- Raisins: Feel free to substitute currants or other dried fruit for the raisins.
- Powdered Sugar and Orange Juice: This hot cross buns recipe includes an optional sweet orange glaze made of powdered sugar and orange juice. These buns are delicious with or without the glaze.
How to Make Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Step 1: In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar with the milk.
Step 2: Set the pan aside and let it cool. You do not want it to be warmer than 90 degrees when you add it to your starter.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Step 4: Set the dry ingredients aside.
Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the active starter, warm milk mixture, vanilla extract, and egg.
Step 6: Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and mix on low for about 3 minutes.
Step 7: The ingredients should be well mixed at the end of 3 minutes.
Step 8: While the dough is mixing, lightly oil a large bowl. After the dough has finished mixing, scrape the dough into the large bowl, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Step 9: After 30 minutes you will do your first set of stretches and folds. This is also when you will add your raisins. Sprinkle 1/4 of the raisins into the dough and do a stretch and fold. Pull the side of the dough up and over the middle of it. Then turning the bowl slightly, add another 1/4 of the raisins and do a stretch and fold. Do this by turning the bowl two more times until you have used all of your raisins and have stretched and folded your dough over a total of four times.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel, and allow your dough to rest for 30 more minutes. After the 30 minutes, perform another series of stretches and folds, turning the bowl slightly each time so that you do the stretches and folds four times.
Step 10: Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until it is lighter and looks more airy. At a temperature of about 78-80 degrees this should take about 4 hours. If your temperature is cooler, it will take a bit longer. This dough will not act like other doughs and double because of the cinnamon. That is ok, just make sure that your dough has risen and looks more airy and light.
Step 11: After your dough has risen, scrape it out onto a clean surface. Divide your dough into 12 equal size pieces. I like to measure my entire dough ball using my kitchen scale and then divide it by 12 so that I can keep my pieces the same size. Gently roll the dough into balls and cover. Let them rest for 20 minutes.
Steps 12, 13, 14: Lightly butter a 9×13 baking pan and set aside. To shape your rolls, flatten your dough slightly and then pull the corners into each other pinching off the middle of the ball to seal it. Turn it over so that the sealed side is down and pull the dough ball towards you to create tension and a perfectly shaped dough ball.
Step 15: Place each dough ball into your baking pan about an inch apart so that they have room for the second rise. Cover the pan and place in the refrigerator overnight. I do this to allow the spices to become really infused in the dough.
Step 16: About 2 hours before you are ready to bake your buns, remove the pan from the refrigerator and either set it on the counter if your home is around 78 degrees or if your home is on the cooler side like mine, you can put the pan in your oven and turn on your oven light with the door closed. Do NOT turn on your oven. The light alone will create a warm and cozy environment for your buns to have the second and final rise. You can also use a proofing box (I love mine). You just need a warm space for the dough to rise. When you notice that the buns are now touching each other and have gotten bigger in size, remove from the oven.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. While your oven is preheating, prepare your egg wash and paste mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water for the egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the tops of each bun.
Step 17: In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour and warm water to make the paste for the crosses. Put the paste into a piping bag and cut a hole at the tip of the bag. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can also use a sealed plastic zipper bag with the tip cut off of one corner.
Steps 18 and 19: Pipe on the paste, making a cross on each bun. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the buns are golden brown, and have an internal temperature of 200 degrees.
Step 20: Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while you mix the orange glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice and powdered sugar, and brush on top of warm buns.
My Sourdough Hot Cross Buns Timeline
The Night Before:
9:00 pm- feed starter and set on the counter overnight (this will work well if your house temperature is cooler-if it is warmer, it may be better to feed your starter early in the morning).
The Next Morning:
10:00 am- measure ingredients and make the hot cross bun dough
10:30 am- let the dough rest for 30 minutes
11:00 am- first set of stretch and folds and add raisins
11:30 am- second set of stretch and folds
11:33 am- ready for bulk fermentation
4:30 pm- bulk rise is finished, measure dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces, gently roll into balls and set aside on counter, covered, for 20 minutes
5:00 pm- final shaping of each ball of dough and set in pan
5:20 pm- cover and set in the refrigerator
The Following Day:
8:00 am- remove from the refrigerator and set in oven with oven light on
10:30 am- remove buns from oven, preheat oven and do egg wash and add the flour paste
11:00 am- bake for 20-25 minutes or until internal dough temperature reads 200 degrees
How to Store
Store sourdough hot cross buns at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe Tips
- This dough will not act like other doughs and double because of the cinnamon. This is ok, just make sure that your dough has risen and looks more airy and light.
- Instead of raisins you can use currants. You can also add other types of dried fruit, but the total weight of any additions should equal roughly the same weight as the chopped raisins in the recipe.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer or a bread mixer, you can also knead this dough by hand, but it will take a bit more time and effort.
More Sourdough Recipes
- Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Sourdough Focaccia
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Loaf
- Overnight Sourdough Biscuits Recipe
- Sourdough Vanilla Almond Scones
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 70 grams unsalted butter
- 80 grams light brown sugar
- 220 grams warm whole milk
- 500 grams bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 120 grams active sourdough starter
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 80 grams chopped raisins
Cross Ingredients
- 40 grams all purpose flour
- 40 grams warm water
Orange Glaze Ingredients
- 100 grams powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar with the milk. Set aside and let it cool. You do not want it to be warmer than 90 degrees when you add it to your starter.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the starter, warm milk mixture, vanilla extract, and egg. Pour the dry ingredient mixture on top of the wet ingredients and mix on low for about 3 minutes. The ingredients should be well mixed at the end of 3 minutes.
- While the dough is mixing, lightly oil a large bowl.
- After the dough has finished mixing, scrape the dough into the large bowl, cover it, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes you will do your first set of stretches and folds. This is also when you will add your raisins. Sprinkle 1/4 of the raisins into the dough and do a stretch and fold. Pull the side of the dough up and over the middle of it. Then turning the bowl slightly, add another 1/4 of the raisins and do a stretch and fold. Do this by turning the bowl two more times until you have used all of your raisins and have stretched and folded your dough over a total of four times. Cover the bowl and allow your dough to rest for 30 more minutes.
- After the 30 minutes, perform another series of stretches and folds, turning the bowl slightly each time so that you do the stretches and folds four times around the bowl.
- Cover and allow your dough to rise until it is lighter and looks more airy. At a temperature of about 78-80 degrees this should take about 4 hours. If your temperature is cooler, it will take a bit longer, and if it is warmer, it may be faster. This dough will not act like other doughs and double because of the cinnamon. That is ok, just make sure that your dough has risen and looks more airy and light.
- After your dough has risen, scrape it out onto a clean surface. Divide your dough into 12 equal size pieces. I like to measure my entire dough ball using my kitchen scale and then divide it by 12 so that I can keep my pieces the same size.
- Gently roll the dough into loose balls and cover. Let them rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Lightly butter a 9×13 baking pan and set aside.
- To shape your rolls, flatten your dough slightly and then pull the corners into each other, pinching off the middle of the ball to seal it. Turn it over so that the sealed side is down and pull the dough ball towards you to create tension and a perfectly-shaped dough ball.
- Place each dough ball into your baking pan about an inch apart so that they have room for the second rise. Cover the pan and place in the refrigerator overnight. I do this to allow the spices to become really infused in the dough.
- About 2 hours before you are ready to bake your buns, remove the pan from the refrigerator and either set it on the counter if your home is around 78 degrees, or if your home is on the cooler side like mine, you can put the pan in your oven and turn on your oven light with the door closed. Do NOT turn on your oven. The light alone will create a warm and cozy environment for your buns to have the second and final rise.
- After about 2 hours, or when you notice that the buns are now touching each other and have gotten bigger in size, remove from the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the Egg Wash
- While your oven is preheating, prepare your egg wash. In a small bowl whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water for the egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the tops of each bun.
Make the Flour Paste for Crosses
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour and warm water to make the paste for the crosses. Put the paste into a piping bag and cut a hole at the tip of the bag. Pipe the paste onto the top of the buns, making a cross on each bun.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the buns are golden brown and have an internal temperature of 200 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while you mix the orange glaze.
Make the Orange Glaze (optional)
- In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice and powdered sugar and brush on top of warm buns.
These are perfect for Easter, but delicious any time of year!