We’ve always loved the smell of hot cross buns baking in the oven – warm spices drifting through the kitchen, a hint of sweetness in the air, and that soft, pillowy dough that makes them so hard to resist. And while you can grab a pack from the shop, nothing really compares to baking your own. This easy-to-follow recipe makes ridiculously good hot cross buns that are perfect on their own or served hot with a bit of butter.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 75g caster sugar
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 300ml warm milk
• 1 egg
• 150g mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins – whatever you’ve got)

For the cross:

• 75g plain flour
• About 5 tbsp water (enough to form a paste)

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp apricot jam or honey

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, spices, salt and yeast (keep the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other). Add the softened butter, warm milk and egg, then mix everything together to form a sticky dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Pop it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise somewhere warm for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Once risen, knock the air out of the dough and gently knead in the dried fruit. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, shape into buns and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment, slightly spaced apart. Cover again and leave to rise for another 45 minutes.
4. Mix the plain flour with water to form a thick paste. Spoon it into a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe a cross over the top of each bun.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Bake the buns for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.
6. While the buns are still warm, gently heat the apricot jam or honey and brush over the tops to give them that classic sticky shine.