Hot Cross Buns Recipe (No Yeast) | Slimming Eats (2024)

FAQs

Why are my hot cross buns not rising? ›

CHECK YOUR YEAST expiry date – The #1 problem because most people don't bake with yeast very often, and yeast does go off! If your yeast is past its expiry date OR you've kept it in hot humid conditions (instead of fridge or freezer), your dough will not rise.

At their most basic, hot cross buns are just yeasted sweet bread rolls that are spiked with dried fruit and warm spices like cinnamon, allspice or cardamom, giving them a slightly greyish appearance.

Traditionally eaten on Good Friday to commemorate the Crucifixion, hot cross buns found an enemy in Elizabeth I, who, in 1592, finding too much Popery in their popularity, banned their consumption except on specific holidays.

Chocolate Chips: For an indulgent treat, swap out raisins for chocolate chips of your choice—dark, milk, or white. The creamy sweetness of chocolate will melt into each bite. Dried Figs: Lastly, step up your hot cross bun game with the sweet and earthy flavour of dried figs.

Find a warm, draft-free place to leave them or heat the oven to 50C (120F or the lowest setting) for 5 minutes then turn off the oven, put the shaped buns in the warm oven (make sure they are still covered), shut the door and leave for around 30 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie.

Try basting your buns for moisture and flavor.

"Using melted butter with just a 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin can totally transform a boring bun."

Hot cross buns and dogs

Hot cross buns which contain dried fruit, such as currants, sultanas and raisins, are all toxic to dogs. Even if your dog eats a small quantity of these dried fruits (and grapes), they can suffer severe kidney failure which may be fatal.

There could be a number of reasons why your hot cross buns turn out heavy or even hard. The most common reasons are as follows: Over kneading – this is more likely to happen if you use an electric mixer and dough hook. If you over knead dough it will break down the glutens and make the buns hard.

Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).

Can Christians eat hot cross buns? ›

In Ireland, the UK and as far abroad as New Zealand, Australia, Canada and India, Hot Cross Buns are eaten every Good Friday in Christian communities. They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified.

The first mention of Hot Cross Buns in English comes from a 1733 Almanac printed in England. According to English tradition, the buns were first baked by a resident monk at St. Alban's Abbey in the 14th century. He distributed them on Good Friday to the poor.

It is hypothesised that the contemporary hot cross bun of Christianity derives at some distance from a bun developed in St Albans in England. There in 1361, Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a Christian monk at St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe called an "Alban Bun" and distributed the bun to the poor on Good Friday.

What fruit is best to use for Hot Cross Buns? You can use whatever fruit you like in your Hot Cross Buns. I often just use sultanas or raisins and then some currants, but you can mix and match as you like with things like dried cranberries or dates.

To fix dough that won't rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.

Yeast is too hot Yeast may have been dissolved in water that was too hot, or the liquid ingredients in the recipe may be too hot, causing the yeast to die. Yeast needs to be warm - not too hot, not too cold. Yeast is too cold If the other ingredients are too cold, it could cause some of the yeast to die.

99% of the time this happens, the problem lies with the yeast used. The quality might be compromised, or you might have applied it incorrectly, or under poor cooking conditions. Read on for why your yeast is not working as it should and what you can do to avoid it.