Hot Cross Bun Loaf – A Beautiful Easter Bake to Slice and Share
There’s something about the smell of hot cross buns baking in the oven that instantly signals the arrival of Easter. The warm spices, sweet citrus, and soft fruit filling the kitchen is just the best!
This Hot Cross Bun Loaf is a slightly different take on the classic Easter bake. Instead of shaping individual buns, the dough is baked as a large, beautifully spiced loaf, making it perfect for slicing thick and toasting with butter ( I always have an issue with a normal hot cross bun in the toaster! It’s everything you love about traditional hot cross buns, the soft enriched dough, the mixed fruit, the warm spices, but in a form that’s ideal for sharing around the table.
I baked this version in a large loaf tin measuring 38.6 × 13.4 × 13.2 cm, which gives a tall, generous loaf perfect for thick slices. But the beauty of this recipe is its flexibility. The exact same dough can easily be shaped into 12 traditional hot cross buns, or divided between two smaller loaf tins if you’d prefer.
Packed with mixed dried fruit, warm mixed spice, and fresh orange zest, this is a loaf that rewards a little patience. The dough is soft, enriched with butter and eggs, and once baked becomes beautifully light and fluffy inside with that classic cross on top.
Slice it thick, toast it lightly, add a generous spread of butter, and you’ve got the kind of bake that brings people straight to the table.
And that, after all, is what Elliot’s Table is all about.
Ingredients
Dough
600 g strong bread flour
335 g full-fat milk, lukewarm
90 g caster sugar
70 g unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (≈75 g)
12 g fine salt
12 g instant yeast
Spices and zest
4 tsp mixed spice
Zest of 1 orange
Fruit
250 g mixed dried fruit
(sultanas, raisins, currants)
for the Cross
75 g plain flour
60–70 ml water
Method
Using your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together:
bread flour
sugar
yeast
spices
orange zest
In a small jug whisk together the lukewarm milk and eggs.
Add the milk mixture slowly while mixing until a dough begins to form. Once everything is combined, rest the dough for 10 minutes, covering the bowl with a tea towel. This allows the flour to hydrate and helps develop a better dough.
Add the softened butter and salt and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Knead for 8–10 minutes by hand or about 6 minutes in a mixer.
The dough should feel soft and supple but not sticky.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dried fruit into the dough by hand until evenly distributed.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1–1.5 hours, or until doubled in size. Keep an eye on this as rising time can change depending on how warm your house is.
Turn the dough out and shape into 8 balls if you are using a loaf tin, or 12 balls if you are baking traditional hot cross buns.
Place into a greased loaf tin or onto a lined baking tray.
Cover loosely and leave to rise until the dough has almost tripled in size. The best way to check if they are ready is to gently poke the dough with your finger—if it slowly rises back up and leaves a small dent, it is ready to bake. This usually takes 1–2 hours.
Mix the flour and water together to create a smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a cross across the top of the loaf or buns.
Bake
Bake at:
180°C fan / 190°C conventional
for 40–45 minutes, until deep golden brown. If the loaf is browning too quickly, loosely cover the top with foil for the final part of baking.
Let the loaf cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Be sure to tag me @elliots.table if you make this.