These Sourdough Hot Cross Buns are spicy, sweet, and soft. A healthier version of the Easter classic, and super delicious. The passionfruit glaze and icing are utterly divine!
What Is a Hot Cross Bun?
A Hot Cross Bun is a deliciously sweet and spicy bun, studded with dried fruit, and marked on the top with a white cross. Usually eaten at easter, the yeasted dough is enriched with eggs and butter for a softer, more decadent bread roll.
How is a Sourdough Hot Cross Bun Different from a conventional one?
This Sourdough Hot Cross Bun recipe is different from conventional Hot Cross Buns in many ways.
Firstly, instead of yeast, we are using sourdough starter. Sourdough starter takes longer to activate within the bread dough than normal yeast, so these hot cross buns will take a bit longer to prove and make. Allow for 2 days – the first day to make the dough, bulk ferment, and cold retard, and the second day to bake and enjoy. Add another sleep to this if you want to soak your fruit first (believe me, soaking the fruit in the dough water is a game-changer!!)
Second, this Sourdough Hot Cross Bun recipe doesn’t have any eggs, butter or sugar. I have instead used a little bit of oil to keep the dough soft, and it is sweetened by the fruit and their soaking liquid. It is utterly decadent, I promise you!
Since there are no animal products in this dough, these hot cross buns can be enjoyed by vegans, yay!
Why do Christians Eat Hot Cross Buns?
Christians make Hot Cross Buns to be eaten on Good Friday, in reverence for the crucifixion of Jesus.
The cross on top marks his death, and the spices are said to represent the spices used to embalm Jesus after his death. The fruit embedded in the bun is said to represent Christ’s entombed body.
When Should You Eat Hot Cross Buns?
Hot Cross Buns usually make their appearance at Easter. The tradition began in the 12th century, when on Good Friday, an English monk made spiced and fruited buns and decorated them with a cross.
From there it gained traction, and you will see that they generally come in greater supply in the weeks leading up to Easter.
But, they can definitely be enjoyed at any time of year. Soft, sweet and warming, these buns are super delicious and comforting. My husband has a bit of a weakness for them, so we definitely don’t confine them to one weekend of the year!
Are Traditional Hot Cross Buns healthy?
Traditional hot cross buns, unfortunately, are not healthy. Loaded with eggs, butter and sugar, they definitely do not make a slimming snack.
My Sourdough version, however, is. With the long fermentation and the soaking of the fruit, this hot cross bun recipe has sweetness without using sugar, and the white flour is more easily digestible than conventional buns.
How Many Hot Cross Buns Should I eat?
While this Sourdough Hot Cross Buns recipe is healthier than the standard bun that you see in supermarket shelves, they are still best enjoyed in moderation. They are so easy to gobble, but just remember that one bun is equal to about 2 slices of bread.
If you are having them with you morning or afternoon coffee, limit yourself to no more than one bun.
If you are enjoying them as part of a main meal (Good Friday Breakfast, for example) then you could stretch to two, but just remember how many slices of bread you are eating! For a balanced diet, I would stick to one bun, with a side of yoghurt and fruit.
Ok, that’s how much you SHOULD eat. But, hey, these babies just slip down so nicely. My husband has been known to eat 6 in one sitting!!
My top 5 Sourdough Hot Cross Buns Baking Tips
- This dough is made with active sourdough starter, so be sure to feed your starter the night before (when you put your fruit on to soak).
- Allocate enough time to make them. The fruit needs to start soaking the night before. The dough needs 6 hours to bulk ferment, and an overnight retard is a must.
- Try not to over-ferment at the bulk fermentation stage. An over-proofed dough is the undoing of any sourdough recipe, and you will get flat, hard little buns. Not what you want to wake up to on a Good Friday morning!
- For this sourdough recipe, the shaping of the buns happens after the overnight cold retard. Allow an hour after shaping for the dough to relax, before popping in the hot oven.
- Make the glaze during the bake, so that the buns can be basted as soon as they come out of the oven. This will make sure the glaze truly sets.
Fermenting and Shaping Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
This recipe for Sourdough Hot Cross Buns is adapted from my Christmas Spiced Fruit Scrolls Recipe. However, unlike that recipe, where the scrolls were shaped before the cold retard, this dough goes straight into the fridge after bulk fermentation.
The buns are shaped after the cold retard, and left to relax for an hour at room temperature, before baking.
How to make the Passionfruit Glaze
This passionfruit glaze atop these Sourdough Hot Cross Buns is absolutely heavenly. Passionfruit has such a distinct flavour – sweet and tart and full, and they really bring these buns to life.
To make the glaze you need:
- the flesh of 2 passionfruit
- 2 tablespoons of honey.
Simply melt the honey, and stir in the passionfruit. Then, paint this across the freshly baked buns.
This glaze will give these Sourdough Hot Cross Buns that lovely shiny appearance and add that extra pop of fruity sweetness.
Frugal Living Note: We have used passionfruit because we have a vine that has done particularly well this year! If you cannot acquire passionfruit without blowing the budget, don’t! Use apricot jam instead – that’s really lovely!
How to get the cross on Hot Cross Buns
Traditionally, the cross is made with a paste of flour and water that is piped across the unbaked buns. The bun rises during cooking, but the cross holds it’s shape, which is really fun.
As you may know, though, I have a passion for frosting so any opportunity to make it, I grab it with both hands.
For me, the soft, sweet and spicy buns are just begging to be iced with a luscious, creamy frosting. So I prefer to ice my cross, after baking and glazing. I just think it complements the bun really nicely!
To make the frosting, I adapted this frosting recipe here, and added passionfruit to it. This passionfruit-flavoured frosting paid homage to the glaze and set beautifully.
How to Serve Hot Cross Buns:
Hot Cross Buns are best served with light, vanilla-like sweetness. They are not savoury at all, and are full of spicy flavour, so they do not need much in terms of toppings – but I do like to jazz things up as much as possible!
Simple butter is absolutely delicious, but I love adding a bit of honey and cinnamon. What I did with these buns, was serve them “buttered” with the leftover icing. It was pretty divine!
I also think that honey and whipped cream (think English Scones) would go down a treat!
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns With Passionfruit Glaze
These Sourdough Hot Cross Buns are spicy, sweet, and soft. A healthier version of the Easter classic, and super delicious. The passionfruit glaze and icing are utterly divine!
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
- 1/4 cup oil
- 100g Christmas Fruit
- 1 tablespoon mixed spice
- 1 tablespoon Almond Essence
- 280g water (I use whey)
- 100g Sourdough Starter
- 450 g Flour
- 10 g Salt
- For the Glaze:
- 2 passionfruit
- 2 tablespoons honey
- For the Crosses:
- 100g Desiccated Coconut, blended into butter
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- the flesh of 2 Passionfruit
- 1 tablespoon Honey
Instructions
The Night Before:
- Feed starter.
- Place Christmas fruit, almond essence, spices, and water (or whey) in a large mixing bowl. Cover with a tea towel, and let it steep overnight. The fruit will release a lovely sweetness into the liquid, which is why you will not need to add honey or sugar to this dough.
The Next Day:
- Add oil, sourdough starter and salt to the fruit-and-spice mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- Add flour and mix until a cohesive dough is formed.
- Leave to rest for half an hour.
Stretch and Fold
For the next 2 hours, do 4 stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart.
Bulk Ferment
- Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for a minimum of 6 hrs (be careful not to over-prove at this stage, as it can really impact how the dough bakes).
- If it is warm, leave for a maximum of 8 hrs, just to be safe.
Overnight proof
- once the dough has doubled in size, the bulk ferment is over!
- The dough can be covered with a tea towel and placed in the fridge overnight for the cold retard.
- There is no need to shape at this stage - that will happen tomorrow, an hour before baking.
- Leave overnight in the fridge.
The Next Day
Shape the Buns:
- an hour before you need to bake, take the dough out of the fridge.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- divide the dough into 12 equal portions, and roll into buns.
- Leave the buns on the baking tray on the counter at room temperature, for an hour.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
- Bake the buns for 30 minutes or until you receive the colouration you desire.
- While still hot, baste with the glaze.
- When completely cool, pipe crosses on each bun.
To Make the Glaze:
- Melt the honey and stir in the flesh of 2 passionfruit.
- Spoon over the buns while still hot.
To Make the Icing:
- blend the coconut until it reaches a butter-like consistency. You will need a high-speed blender for this. I use our electric spice-grinder, and it works a treat.
- Add the coconut cream, passionfruit and melted honey.
- Blend till smooth.
- put in a piping bag and ice over cooled buns.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 308Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 365mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 5g
