How to make the most delicious ever air fryer hot cross buns. Let us show you how to prove your bun dough in the air fryer, air fry the hot cross buns and make those classic crosses.
If there is one food, you must make in the air fryer this easter then its these homemade hot cross buns.
Table of Contents
Easy Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Are you one of those people that looks at the perfectly glazed hot cross buns sold in M&S at Easter and thinks there is no way, they could achieve something similar in the air fryer.
Well, you’re wrong.
Hot cross buns cooked in the air fryer are so easy to make. Its not as difficult as you think, and you can even make ahead your buns to save time on Good Friday.
Then use the air fryer the next day to toast your buns.
Though, our favourite part of our air fryer hot cross buns is following a similar method to our air fryer pull apart bread and then using the air fryer to prove the dough.
Can You Do Hot Cross Buns In Air Fryer?
Yes you sure can make hot cross buns using the air fryer. You can either do the whole process using the air fryer, like we are doing today, or use the air fryer just for cooking them in.
Which would work well if making bread machine hot cross buns because you are making the dough in the bread machine and then air frying once prepared. Or you can buy your hot cross buns and then use the air fryer to toast them.
The choice is yours.
Hot Cross Buns In A Bread Machine
If you are making hot cross buns in a bread machine, we recommend you follow our bread machine dinner rolls method and then alter the ingredients to match this recipe. I.e. adding in the sugar and raisins etc.
Then once the bread machine beeps you have hot cross buns dough, and you can then shape them ready for the air fryer.
Can You Toast Buns In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you sure can. The air fryer can toast all kinds of foods, and once you have an air fryer you don’t need a toaster.
We have toasted bagels in the air fryer, made regular air fryer toast, air fryer crumpets and air fryer hot cross buns is another type you can use the air fryer to toast.
What Is In A Hot Cross Bun?
A hot cross bun is very similar to a tea cake or a fruit tea loaf (like the one we featured yesterday) in the sense that it is a bread product loaded with dried fruit and a little sugar.
But what makes a hot cross bun stand out compared to a tea cake or a fruit loaf, is its gorgeous looking cross that you see on the top of it. Like the one Dom is doing below:
The cross on the top of the hot cross bun is made by mixing flour and water together into a paste and then gives it the magical look.
Would you like easy & amazing air fryer recipes from air fryer experts? Click here and join the Recipe This Newsletter. We will then send you the BEST air fryer beginner recipes direct to your email inbox along with other useful air fryer resources.
Easy Hot Cross Buns Recipe Ingredients
Dough – We always start our hot cross buns for Easter ingredients with the typical ingredients we would use to make a bread dough. Plain flour, butter, milk, extra virgin olive oil, and yeast.
Extras – Then to turn your buns dough into hot cross buns we also add brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, along with plenty of raisins.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this easy hot cross bun recipe it has been our Philips Air Fryer. We recommend this one and its wonderful for many types of air fryer recipes.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our air fryer recipes category as we have more than 500 tried and tested air fryer recipes and have been air frying for 10 years.
How To Cook Hot Cross Buns?
- Dough. Start by making your hot cross buns dough. Rub sugar and flour into fat with the seasonings until you have breadcrumbs. Add yeast then add slowly the warm milk and oil. Mix until you have a dough.
- Knead. Then knead the dough and as you do, knead the raisins into the dough. Then make the dough into 10 equal sized dough balls. Place them into the silicone cake pan side by side like a cobbler.
- Crosses. Make the hot cross buns crosses by mixing flour and water and loading the paste into a piping bag. Then creating the crosses on each bun.
- Cook. Next place the silicone in the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes at 180c/360f followed by 5 minutes at 150c/300f.
- Glaze. Then finish with a icing sugar glaze over the top of the buns before serving.
You are now done, and you can now serve the hot cross buns for your good Friday brunch with some butter.
Can You Freeze Hot Cross Buns?
Yes, you can freeze hot cross buns and we highly recommend doing so. You can make ahead the hot cross buns, cook them, freeze them and then use the air fryer to reheat and toast your buns.
How To Store Hot Cross Buns?
To store hot cross buns, once cool place them into a zip loc bag. Then keep them in a cool kitchen cupboard for up to 3 days or until you have chance to eat them.
Or alternatively freeze any leftover buns for later.
More Air Fryer Easter Recipes
- Air Fryer Leg Of Lamb
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops
- Air Fryer Carrot Cake
- Air Fryer Dyed Easter Eggs
- Air Fryer Crème Eggs
Your easy hot cross buns recipe is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free air fryer ebooks and useful air fryer cook time charts and so much more.
Air Fryer Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 440 g Plain Flour/All Purpose
- 60 g Unsalted Butter
- 30 g Light Brown Sugar
- 30 g Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- Pinch Nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp Mixed Spice
- 240 ml Whole Milk
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Dried Yeast
- 75 g Raisins
- 2 Tbsp Mixed Peel
- 1 Tbsp Heaped Plain Flour for crosses
- 1 Tbsp Icing Sugar/Confectioners Sugar for glaze
Kitchen Gadgets
- Philips Air Fryer
- 7 Inch Silicone Round Cake Pan
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer at 180c/360f for 20 minutes. Place into a mixing bowl the flour, the sugars, the seasonings and the butter and rub the fat into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Warm up the milk and oil together in a jug via the microwave until it is luke warm which is about 30 seconds. Add the yeast to the bowl and gradually add in the warm milk and oil. Mix with your hands until you have a dough.
- Knead the raisins and mixed peel into the dough until you have the perfect kneaded dough.
- Then form into 10 equal sized balls. Place the balls into the air fryer silicone pan and then place the silicone pan into the air fryer basket.
- Leave the hot cross buns in the air fryer basket for an hour until they have increased in size past the top of the silicone pan.
- Mix a heaped tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of water until you have a paste and add to a piping bag. Pipe the crosses over the buns.
- Air fry the hot cross buns for 15 minutes at 180c/360f followed by 5 minutes at 150c/300f.
- When the air fryer beeps mix together a little icing sugar with water until you have a glazing paste, then using a pastry brush, brush over the tops of the hot cross buns before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!
First time using silicone in my air fryer and they turned out lovely. So good and easy to make with hardly any washing up, many thanks.