Hot Cross Bread – Family Fresh Meal

These soft spiced buns are dotted with dried cranberries and topped with sweet icing crosses, making them a beloved Easter tradition. Roasted fresh and warm, it is especially popular on Good Friday, although they are perfect for any spring celebration.

The gentle sweetness and warm spices make them feel like a cozy cross between dinner and the bakery. Most importantly, the next day they tasted just as amazing – if leftovers!

Need ingredients

• Quickly active dry yeast – Help the dough rise quickly without having to bloom first.
• Bread flour – Added soft and chewy bread structure.
• White sugar – Sweet dough.
• brown sugar – Increase molasses flavor and increase richness and moisture.
• Salt – Balances sweetness and enhances flavor.
• Cinnamon, spice powder, nutmeg – That classic hot cross-flavored warm spice.
• Unsalted butter – Increase richness and keep the bread soft.
• Orange peel – Bright citrus flavors perfectly with dried fruits.
• Big egg – Combine the dough and add structure.
• Warm milk (110°F) – Activate the yeast and enrich the dough.
• Dried cranberries – Fruit flavor in each bread, chewy biting.
• For washing eggs:
  • Large Egg + Milk – Brush on top to a shiny, golden finish.
• For glaze stick:
  • Powdered sugar + orange juice – Brush on warm bread to create a citrus glaze.
• For cross icing:
  • Powdered sugar + orange juice – Pass through the pipes on the top of each bread to make a traditional cross.

Hot cross bread

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, spiced powder and nutmeg. Then combine the yeast with stirring or dough hook. See Notes 1 and 2.
   Heat the milk to 110 degrees F.
2. Add unsalted butter, hot crust, eggs, dried cranberries and iced milk. See Note 3.
   On level 2, mix the dough for 5-8 minutes.
3. When it starts to pull away from the bowl, when it gets sticky but not sticking to the fingers.
4. Flour a clean surface and continue kneading the dough with your palms and fold each time until you can poke the dough and there are no dents.
5. Place it in a flour bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. See Note 4.
   Once the size doubles, collapse it again and roll it into the log.
6. Cut it into even sections of about 3.2 ounces. I was able to pull out 10 loaves of bread from the dough.
7. Roll them into balls with the seams facing down. Place them on a 9×13 baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Give them a rest for an hour or so again until they double again.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Celsius. In a small bowl, mix an egg with ½ tablespoon of milk. Wash the bread with eggs. Place them in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the bread turns golden brown.
9. Mix 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon orange juice. Use it as a glaze brush. Cool for 5 minutes.
10. Mix another ½ cup of powdered sugar with 2½ teaspoons of orange juice. Place the frosting in a pipe bag or bag and cut off the tip. Use it to pipe.
11. Provide warm and best service on the same day.

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Hot Cross Bread Recipe

These hot crosses are spiced breads, dotted with dried cranberries and topped with sweet sugar ten crosses is a beloved Easter tradition.

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• In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, spiced powder and nutmeg. Then combine the yeast with stirring or dough hook. See Notes 1 and 2.

• Heat the milk to 110 degrees. Add unsalted butter, hot crust, eggs, dried cranberries and iced milk. See Note 3.

• On level 2, mix the dough for 5-8 minutes. When it starts to pull away from the bowl, when it gets sticky but not sticking to the fingers.

• Flour a clean surface and continue kneading the dough with your palms and fold each time until you can poke the dough and there are no dents.

• Place it in a flour bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. See Note 4.

• Once the size doubles, collapse it again and roll it into the log. Cut it into even sections of about 3.2 ounces. I was able to pull out 10 loaves of bread from the dough.

• Roll them into balls with the seams facing down. Place them on a 9×13 baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Give them a rest for an hour or so again until they double again.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix an egg with ½ tablespoon of milk. Wash the bread with eggs. Place them in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the bread turns golden brown.

• Mix 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon orange juice. Use it as a glaze brush. Cool for 5 minutes.

• Mix another ½ cup of powdered sugar with 2½ teaspoons of orange juice. Place the frosting in a pipe bag or bag and cut off the tip. Use it to pipe.

• Provide warm and best service on the same day.

Note 1: There are several ways you can prepare. You can knead the dough with your hands. Stir the sieved ingredients with eggs, then add the wet ingredients and continue mixing with the spoon until it is paired enough to carry by hand. On the surface of the flour, start kneading the dough for about 10 minutes, continue folding and working with your palms until you can poke it, and the dents return to the surface. If you want to use a blender, attach the dough hook and mix the sieved ingredients with the yeast together. Then add the wet ingredients and let the dough hook work for 5-8 minutes until the dough pulls out from the side of the bowl and the dough is sticky but not sticking to the fingers. Remove the dough and continue kneading the flour surface with your hands until it poked, and the dents returned to the surface. I know that it seems redundant if you are kneading the dough, but it can keep your hands from working. It is important to work thoroughly because that is what activates yeast and gluten. Since this is bread, not cake, you don’t have to worry about overworking the dough. The recipe requires 3.5 cups of flour, but it ends up being more like 4 after you knead the dough into extra flour. Note 2: Several types of yeast can be used when making bread. They are active dry, instant/fast rising and fresh.
– Active dry yeast is a powder that is if you dissolve in a warm liquid and then activate it and get a foamy shape, then mix it into the dry ingredients.
– The yeast or fast fat yeast I use for this recipe helps the dough rise faster and does not need to dissolve it in the liquid before adding it to the dry ingredients. You can mix them together.
-Fresh yeast is the yeast block that you collapse and then dissolve in the liquid. Note 3: Since we are using fast-rise yeasts, you want to make sure the milk is not too cold or too hot, both of which prevent yeast activation. You want milk at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. I cut ¾ into cuts in microwave-safe containers and poured them into the microwave at 30-second intervals and checked between each interval using a thermometer. Note 4: This rise depends to a lot on your climate and the warmth of your home. Of course, it’s not a person to let me raise the dough in the summer months, but my house must be cold in the winter. There are a few things you can do to help…one can turn on the oven and if the kitchen is on the warm side, you can cover it and place it on the stove. If your oven has a proofreading drawer or setting, you can put it in it. You can turn the oven to 100 degrees and place it in the oven.

Switch nutrition information

Calories: 246KCAL | carbohydrate: 45g | protein: 8g | Fatty: 7g | Saturated fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated fat: 1g | Monounsaturated fat: 2g | Trans fat: 0.2g | cholesterol: 50mg | sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 116mg | fiber: 2g | sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 239IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | calcium: 46mg | iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclaimer: Fresh meals at home are not nutritionists or nutritionists, and any shared nutrition information is just an estimate. If you need to verify any information, we recommend running the ingredients through the online nutrition calculator.

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