Soft Spelt Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Sue Maree P -

Delicious Spelt Hot Cross Buns – Soft, Moist & Flavourful!
Looking for a moist and soft Spelt Hot Cross Buns recipe? This recipe is inspired by Beatrix Bake’s Easter Hot Cross Buns, which use raw puréed orange to keep the buns wonderfully moist. She herself was inspired by the famous Melbourne bakery Babka’s shoo-fly buns.
I’ve adapted the recipe with a few of my favourite twists, including white spelt flour, oat milk, and cranberries, and I’ve halved the sugar for a slightly healthier treat.
Baking hot cross buns at home takes a little time, but the result is absolutely worth it. These buns are soft, fragrant, and perfect for Easter—or any cosy weekend baking session. Fair warning: they’re dangerously good—you may want to eat at least three straight from the oven!

Perfect for baking with spelt flour, sharing with family, or enjoying with your morning coffee or tea.

Prep. Time Takes = 35 minutes
Resting Time Takes = about 100-120 mins
Bakes = 15-20 mins
Makes = 12 buns

Ingredients

  • White Spelt Flour – 520g
  • Instant Yeast – 10g (1.5 packets)
  • Warm oat milk (or whole milk) – 200ml
  • Caster Sugar or white sugar – 30g
  • Salt – 10g
  • Unsalted butter – 75g
  • Oranges – 2
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • Sultanas, currants and dried cranberries – 150g
  • Extra flour for dusting
  • A little oil for adding to plastic and hands

Cross Batter

  • Vegetable oil – 10ml
  • Flour – 60g
  • Water – 50ml
  • Icing sugar – 1 tsp
  • Salt – 1/4 tsp
  • piping bag + small plain nozzle

Glaze

  • Orange zest – 1 tbsp
  • Water – 50ml
  • Castor sugar – 50g
  • Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp

Method

  1. ZEST one of the oranges and juice.
  2. POUR 30ml of orange juice into a small bowl and add the dried fruit. Save the extra juice for later on.
  3. REMOVE the top and bottom of the second orange. Slice and remove any seeds. Puree the total chopped orange in a blender or food processor, place in a small bowl for later on. This should weigh 250g, add the balance of orange juice to equal this quantity.
  4. ADD dried yeast and warm milk together and stir until the yeast is dissolved.
  5. ADD flour, sugar, spices and salt and whisk slightly to combine.
  6. THROW all the flour mix into the stand mixer bowl, then add the softened butter and pureed orange using a dough hook attachment start on low then increase to level 2 and combine for about 10 minutes.
  7. ADD the dried fruit and combine a little until together for an additional 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky and loose but should be shiny and smooth and come away from the sides of your mixing bowl.
  8. PLACE the dough ball into a large grease with a little oil in the bowl to prove for 1 hour in a warm spot until doubled in size and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Check after an hour and if not doubled you may need to leave for more time. The time can vary depending on the room temperature and the flour used.
  9. THEN remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured bench. You may need to add flour to your hands and the dough ball to make it easy to split into your 12 balls. Use a set of kitchen scales to measure out the dough evenly. Approx. 110g. Place your buns in a 3 x 4 formation, on a 30 x 40cm (12x16inch) baking tray lined with baking paper. Space each ball about 2cm apart to allow for spreading.
  10. REMOVE any of the dried fruit that is poking out to avoid fruit burning.
  11. SPRAY olive oil on the plastic or top of the dough balls before covering them with plastic wrap. Rest again in a warm spot for 45-60mins for the second proving. If you'd like them for breakfast the next day. Prepare up to this point cover and rest in the fridge overnight. Remove 30 minutes before baking so the buns are at room temperature add the piping and bake.
  12. PREPARE the batter for the cross. Add oil, water and flour in a small bowl and mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until smooth. Spoon this mixture into a piping bag ready to pipe before the buns are baked.
  13. PREHEAT the oven to 190˚C.
  14. PIPE the cross batter in a thin line through the centre of the buns and back over the other side to create a cross on each bun. (see the video for further instructions if needed. I now like an X instead of a cross just for fun and to be less cross-like).
  15. Bake the buns for 15-20 mins.
  16. GLAZE add water and sugar to a small saucepan and heat on low for about 30 secs until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before adding the zest and vanilla extract. This is ready to glaze the buns once they are cooked.
  17. CHECK the buns in the oven at 10 minutes in case they are burning, rotate the tray if needed, once cooked remove then glaze each bun straight away with the sugar syrup using a pastry brush.
  18. COOL the buns for at least 30 mins before eating. I can never wait this long.
  19. STORE the buns are best eaten on the day or perfect for toasting the day after. Or after baking and cooling wrap and pop into the freezer to enjoy later on. Remove from the freezer and defrost before toasting or re-heating.