Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Sweetly spiced buns studded with currants, orange zest and made with 100% natural yeast (sourdough), these sourdough hot cross buns are perfect for your Easter celebration. Serve them for brunch or gift them on Good Friday, however you choose to serve them, you will love the bright citrusy flavor and warm spices of sourdough hot cross buns.
Ingredients
Levain (1:8:8 at 78ºF takes about 8-10 hours)
- 8 grams ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 64 grams all-purpose or bread flour
- 64 grams water
- 10 grams granulated sugar
Sourdough Hot Cross Bun Dough
- 120 grams levain ripe, bubbly, active, about 1/2 cup
- 240 grams whole milk warmed, about 1 cup
- 90 grams brown sugar about 1/2 cup
- 1 large egg about 50 grams
- zest of one orange
- 535 grams bread flour
- 6 grams salt about 1 teaspoon
- 4 grams ground cinnamon about 1 teaspoon
- 1 gram allspice about 1/2 teaspoon
- 1 gram cloves about 1/2 teaspoon
- 72 grams unsalted butter softened and reserved to add in during mixing
- 100 grams currants reserved to add in during mixing
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- splash of water
Piping Mixture for the Cross
- 40 grams all-purpose flour 4 Tablespoons
- 50 grams water 4 Tablespoons
Orange Glaze
- 90 grams powdered sugar
- 20 grams freshly squeezed orange juice use the juice of the zested orange
Instructions
Day 1
- Mix Levain (1:8:8 at 78ºF takes about 8-10 hours)
- Mix together ripe sourdough starter, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and water. Cover and keep in a warm 78ºF place for about 8-10 hours until bubbly, doubled in size and active. You can adjust the feeding ratio to have the levain ready when you want it.
Sourdough Hot Cross Bun Dough
- Mix Dough: Warm the milk in the microwave to right around 90ºF. To the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the ripe levain, warmed milk, brown sugar, egg and orange zest. Add the bread flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves on top. Turn on the mixer and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and all the ingredients well incorporated.
- Add Butter: Cut the butter into 8-10 chunks. Butter should be firm but soft enough to leave a dent when you press your finger into the butter. Turn the mixer on and add chunks of butter into the dough a little at a time. Continue adding chunks of butter until all the butter is added and incorporates into the dough.
- Knead: Continue kneading the dough on medium speed for about 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Add the currants and knead for another minute until currants are mixed throughout the dough.
- Bulk Fermentation: At this point the dough will be soft and cohesive. Dump the dough into a container and cover. Set the dough in a warm, 78ºF place for 4 hours. Take the temperature of the dough as needed to make sure the dough temperature stays right around 78ºF. This temperature is the optimal fermentation. If your dough temperature is cooler than 78ºF, it will need to ferment longer than 4 hours.
- Shape and Proof: Dump the dough out onto a (clean) countertop. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter using your hand in a cupping shape (see video here) to seal the balls and create tension for the bun to rise.
- Line a 9 by 13 pan with parchment paper (so the buns stay soft and don't stick on to the bottom) and place dough balls in the pan, 3 across and 4 down. Cover the pan and let the buns rise overnight for about 8-10 hours at 78ºF. If your temperature is warmer than this, the fermentation will go FASTER. If the temperature is colder than 78ºF, the fermentation will go SLOWER. I use a bread proofer to keep the temperature consistent. If making these in the summer, be very careful because they could over-proof in warmer temperatures if you proof them overnight.
Day 2
- Pre-heat Oven and Egg Wash Buns: The next morning, the dough should be puffed up and doubled in size. If the rolls are not puffed up and risen, place them in a warmer place to finish rising. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. While the oven is preheating, prepare a simple egg wash by whisking an egg with a little splash of water. Brush on top of all the buns.
- Pipe Cross: The signature look of a hot cross bun is the piped cross on top of the bun. Mix together 40 grams flour with 50 grams water. Add mixture to a piping bag (or ziplock bag). Snip off the end and pipe a line down the center of each row of buns. Turn the pan 90º and pipe a straight line across the buns in the other direction, resulting in a cross on all the buns.
- Bake: Bake buns in 350ºF pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until baked all the way through until the internal temperature is 190ºF.
- Glaze: Mix together powdered sugar with the juice of an orange. A few minutes after the buns come out of the oven, brush the glaze all over the tops of the buns. Let cool a little bit and enjoy!
Notes
I use an overnight rise for these sourdough hot cross buns and keep the temperature right at 78ºF. This works well when I have good control over my dough temperature. The cinnamon slows down the fermentation a little bit and the addition of butter, egg and milk in the dough makes the fermentation go more slowly. To be able to have hot cross buns in the morning, this overnight method works well.
If you want to change the timing on these buns, you don't have to let them rise overnight. Levain can be made the night before and the dough mixed in the morning. Increase the temperature of the dough and the buns will rise quicker, meaning you could make this entire recipe in one day. Find this guide on ratios to help you decide how to alter the levain for your bake.
Currants: I use these currants, but you can also substitute raisins or other dried fruit if desired.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!