Hot cross buns are spiced brioche-like breads, usually filled with currants or raisins and glazed with orange marmalade. They are decorated with an icing cross and served on Good Friday, a Christian holiday two days before Easter. The traditional hot cross bun is delicious, but when I saw it the iconic Bourke Street Bakery in Sydney, Australia, does chocolate hot sandwichesI was intrigued because I’ve always liked the combination of chocolate with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
I created this recipe for yeasted chocolate hot cross buns and loved the result. They are less sweet than cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip muffins and have the classic fluffy texture of brioche. The dough recipe is the result of tinkering with Breadtopia’s most classic ingredients: warm sourdough rolls with Kamut flour, and the chocolate icing, formulated to bake semi-solid rather than melt, was born out of luck and a bit of baker’s intuition. I definitely plan to bake these rolls at other times of the year without the frozen cross and possibly with candied orange peels.
Soft hot cross sandwiches spiced with chocolate chips.
Flour substitutions
The dough for these rolls is made of 75% strong bread flour and 25% wholemeal yecora rojo flour, which adds flavor and color. You can substitute other whole wheat varieties, bran extraction levels, and change ratios as desired. Simply add the water slowly and try to get the dough dry enough to form a ball but still elastic.
I also tried adding a spoonful of cocoa powder to the dough but I preferred the flavor of the rolls without this extra chocolate.
Test 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder into the dough.
Scale the recipe
This hot cross bun recipe is adapted for a 9 x 9-inch pan and makes nine buns. If you would like to make this recipe in a 9 x 13-inch pan for fifteen rolls or twelve very large rolls, multiply each ingredient by 1.45 to fill the volume of the largest pan. Feel free to round up and down as needed. For eggs, you can whisk two eggs together and then weigh out 70 grams of egg. (Eggs weigh about 50 grams on average, so 1.4 eggs equals 70 grams.)
Conversion to leavening with sourdough
To make these rolls with sourdough instead of instant yeast, subtract 80 grams of water and 80 grams of one of the two flours from the dough recipe; it does not matter which. Instead of instant yeast, mix 160 grams of mature sourdough into the dough. Expect longer rising times, such as around five hours for 75-100% expansion during the first rise and around three hours for the dough balls to double during the final rise. Keep in mind that dough/ambient temperature and starter strength may result in shorter or longer fermentation times.
Be sure to watch the Photo gallery after the target dough expansion recipe, whether you use instant yeast or sourdough starter.
Spiced chocolate hot cross buns are a delicious alternative to traditional rolls filled with dried fruit. Enjoy them warm and melty, and feel free to play with other tasty additions to the dough, like dried cherries or candied orange peel.
Total time
1 hour and 28 minutes
ingredients
Dough
- 340 grams bread flour (2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons)
- 115 grams yecora rojo wholemeal flour (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 4 grams of salt (2/3 teaspoons)
- 3 grams of instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (2.6 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (0.5 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (0.5 grams)
- 175 grams of warmed milk (3/4 cup)
- 80 grams of water (1/3 cup)
- 39 grams of brown sugar (3 tablespoons)
- 28 grams unsalted butter, cubed (2 tablespoons)
- 1 egg
- 110 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips (2/3 cup) to add after 2-3 minutes of mixing,
Chocolate frosting
- 25 grams of semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 tablespoons)
- 10 grams of milk (2 teaspoons)
- 7 grams all-purpose flour (1 scant tablespoon)
Simple syrup frosting
- 30 grams of water (2 tablespoons)
- 25 grams of sugar (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- See the photo gallery below for target dough consistency and rise.
- These instructions are for using a stand mixer, but hand mixing is fine. To manually add the chocolate chips, I recommend rolling about 15 minutes after the initial kneading.
Mixing and First Leavening
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flours, salt, baking powder and spices. If you want to bloom the yeast, add it to the liquid (next step) when it is below 110°F.
- Heat the milk until hot, then add the pieces of butter and brown sugar to melt/melt it.
- Add the warm milk-butter-sugar mixture and the egg to the dry ingredients and mix with the dough hook at low speed, adding the 80 grams of water as much as necessary so that the hydration of the dough is slightly sticky but not stay attached. your fingers when you touch it. The dough will need to be wrapped around the hook.
- Mix for 2-3 minutes, add the chocolate chips and mix another minute, or use your hands to knead and incorporate the chips into the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a straight-sided bowl or bucket, cover and let rise until it has expanded by 75-100%. Depending on the dough and room temperature, it may take 1-2 hours.
Modeling and final test
- Grease a 9″ x 9″ square baking pan or line with parchment paper.
- Place the dough on a clean work surface, gently deflate it and divide it into nine pieces.
- Form the pieces into balls and place them in the pan.
- Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
Icing, baking and icing
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- For the tubular crosses, melt the chocolate chips with the milk in a glass or Pyrex bowl in the microwave (15-20 seconds, stir/check the progress, repeat until melted). Mix the flour and pour the dough into a small plastic bag.
- Cut a 1/8″ hole in one corner of the bag and pipe horizontal and vertical lines on the fully proofed buns. For thicker lines, make double the frosting and cut a 1/4″ hole in the bag.
- Bake buns for 28 minutes or until internal temperature of center bun exceeds 190°F.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cloth or rack to cool.
- Combine the sugar and water for the icing then heat briefly in the microwave to dissolve the sugar. Brush the glaze onto the warm rolls and serve hot.
- Sandwiches can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container or covered with plastic for several days. Reheat each sandwich for 10-15 seconds in the microwave to soften before serving. To freeze, wrap each sandwich tightly with plastic wrap.
