“Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns.”
Do you ever learn that rhyme growing up? Seeing as how Good Friday is just two days away I couldn’t resist making hot cross buns.
For centuries now hot cross buns have been a traditional breakfast in England on Good Friday. Children would go around the streets singing this little rhyme while trying to sell the buns. The cross across the top of the buns symbolizes the cross that Jesus died on. It is a reminder of the sacrifice he made to forgive us of our sins. Some use icing to make the cross but I chose to use some of the dough.
Hot cross buns have been my tradition of Good Friday for 10 years now. I started making it shortly after I moved to Mexico to eat after our communion service. While most people eat these first thing in the morning we ate them at night. An added bonus is that you don’t have to get up extra early to make them!
Soaked Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
- 1 cup kefir, yogurt, or 3/4 cup water with 1/4 cup acid medium (apple cider vinegar, whey, lemon juice, or kombucha)
- 1/2 cup very warm water
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 egg
- 3 TBS sugar (such as coconut)
- 1 TBS orange zest
- 1 TBS honey
- 3 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp unrefined salt
Instructions
- Mix the flour, 1 cup of liquid, sugar, fat, orange juice, zest, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Leave on the counter to soak for 12 to 24 hours. I made mine in the morning and made the buns the next morning.
- In a small bowl mix the 1/2 warm water, honey and yeast. Whisk until mixed. Allow the foam up for about 5 minutes.
- Add the yeast mixture, egg and cranberries to the bowl. Mix in to incorperate compleatly. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Cover and let rise for 1 hour in warm place.
- After one hour, punch down your dough and recover. Allow the dough to rise for one more hour.
- After one more hour, punch down and devide into 10 large or 20 small balls of dough.
- Use two (or one) of the buns to roll out thin pieces of dough to place as crosses on the other eighteen (nine) buns.
- Place the buns on a greased cookie sheet.
- Paint with an egg wash, cover and let rise for 30 minutes, in a warm place.
- Bake the buns for about fifteen minutes at 425 F.
- Once the buns are done place on a wire rack to cool.
- Now you truly do have Hot Cross Buns!
This post is part of Hearth and Soul, Real Food Wendsday
When do you add the butter or coconut oil? or the orange juice?
Hey Kristi, I’m sorry for missing your comment. Thank you for pointing out my mistake, I updated the recipe.
That song was the first thing I thought of when I saw your post.
A little bit of time and labor involved but worth every minute!
Thanks for sharing at the hearth and soul hop 44.
Yum, tasty! I have been dreaming of hot cross buns so much lately, I managed to come up with a grain-free version topped with thick cardamom custard. What a treat!
yum! i thought about your hot cross buns yesterday…my good friday didn’t seem complete without them! happy easter, katie mae! tqm!